Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.7% Higher

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares shot up 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $292.00 and last traded at $289.26. 781,934 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,283,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Northland Securities lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $285.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.01. The company has a market capitalization of $95.71 billion, a PE ratio of 46.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 158,917 shares of company stock worth $44,335,843 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $1,563,020,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,430,299 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $804,199,000 after buying an additional 86,995 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $924,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,013 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.