Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 5.7% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price shot up 5.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $228.85 and last traded at $227.79. 9,310,352 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 9,527,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $215.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PANW. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $205.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 5.7%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.60. The firm has a market cap of $185.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.