FY2025 EPS Estimates for PANW Raised by Cantor Fitzgerald

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst now forecasts that the network technology company will earn $1.80 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.77. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $223.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens cut Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $186.14 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $178.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.33. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.24 billion, a PE ratio of 104.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.