Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0% Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 0% during trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $320.42 and last traded at $317.92. Approximately 1,368,022 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,027,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $317.85.

The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 37.81% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Susquehanna raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.45.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,917 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,915 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after purchasing an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $99.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.81, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $288.74 and its 200-day moving average is $299.00.

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.