JMP Securities Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $415.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price raised by JMP Securities from $380.00 to $415.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a market outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.6 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $383.36 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $260.09 and a 1-year high of $408.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a PE ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $364.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.63.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is set to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. The trade was a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $536,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,929,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 7,468 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.6% in the first quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 16,142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,289 shares during the period. 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.