Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $225.0850.

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, October 27th.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $192.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $134.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.13, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.79. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $223.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $205.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.45.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock worth $251,702,305 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.