Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 3.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price traded up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $181.52 and last traded at $181.20. 5,774,329 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 10,003,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $147.86 billion, a PE ratio of 100.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,587,100,000 after purchasing an additional 594,789 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after purchasing an additional 540,756 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,415,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.