Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) PT Raised to $225.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Wolfe Research from $210.00 to $225.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.18% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on PANW. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $207.98 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $132.22 and a fifty-two week high of $208.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.13, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.17.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The network technology company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 69.46%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 275 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.60, for a total value of $51,315.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,774,150.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 20,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.06, for a total value of $4,004,258.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,419 shares in the company, valued at $237,658,693.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.60, for a total transaction of $51,315.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 30,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,774,150.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 267,330 shares of company stock valued at $50,478,046. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 61.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 55 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,071.4% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 600.0% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 126 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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Palo Alto Networks, Inc engages in the provision of network security solutions to enterprises, service providers, and government entities. It operates through the following geographical segments: the United States, Israel, and Other Countries. The company was founded by Nir Zuk in March 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.