Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given “Outperform” Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer restated their outperform rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $330.00 price objective on the network technology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $317.45.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $311.44 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $289.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.15. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $194.08 and a 1-year high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $100.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.27, a PEG ratio of 5.03 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares in the company, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,326 shares of company stock valued at $80,147,130. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after buying an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,129,800,000 after buying an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.