JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 34.10% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PANW. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $236.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.36.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $167.78 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $184.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.20. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $116.94 billion, a PE ratio of 105.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.