Evercore Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $320.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price lifted by analysts at Evercore from $250.00 to $320.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Evercore’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.80% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Capital One Financial boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $168.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, New Street Research cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.16.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $260.58 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $261.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.38. The company has a market cap of $212.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 30,756 shares of company stock worth $5,076,355 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summitry LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $268,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 116.8% in the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 538,549 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $86,340,000 after buying an additional 290,170 shares in the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $273,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 149,277 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $23,932,000 after buying an additional 19,164 shares during the period. Finally, Evolutionary Tree Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $1,344,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.