Truist Financial Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $275.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective raised by Truist Financial from $200.00 to $275.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.99% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.49.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.8%

PANW stock opened at $245.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $176.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.18. The company has a market cap of $200.38 billion, a PE ratio of 136.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $248.85.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. The trade was 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 valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in 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 period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during 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 period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets and reiterated bullish ratings, signaling confidence in upcoming results and long-term growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts pointed to strength in subscription revenue and possible upside to remaining performance obligations ahead of earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock has also been featured in coverage arguing it could still be attractive despite being technically overbought, which adds to the debate around the recent run.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warns the shares are extremely overbought after a sharp rally, so any earnings disappointment in June could trigger a pullback.

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.