Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.40-1.42 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.41. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.15-2.17 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.16 billion.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $311.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $288.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.00. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $188.30 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 37.81%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Northland Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $317.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% 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.