Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $350.23 and last traded at $349.49. Approximately 297,053 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,265,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $345.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Argus raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $336.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.87. The company has a market cap of $113.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,563,020,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after buying an additional 749,199 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth approximately $177,933,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $150,520,000 after acquiring an additional 444,100 shares during the last quarter. 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.