Analysts Set Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target at $325.59

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $325.59.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th.

Insider Activity

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $42,165,110.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 307,315 shares of company stock worth $100,940,790. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.8% in the second quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 7,882 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 12.4% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 239,366 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $81,552,000 after buying an additional 26,324 shares during the period. SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.3% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 948 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.7% in the second quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,985 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.2 %

PANW opened at $305.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $98.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $201.17 and a 12 month high of $380.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.