Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Increased to $360.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $340.00 to $360.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PANW. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Macquarie upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $326.29.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $339.01 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $307.06 and a 200 day moving average of $307.11. The company has a market cap of $109.77 billion, a PE ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.10. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $201.17 and a 12-month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,295,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $1,563,020,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $924,905,000 after buying an additional 30,013 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $799,792,000 after buying an additional 198,078 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $606,854,000 after buying an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.