Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $435.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $425.00 to $435.00 in a report issued on Thursday. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

PANW has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 4.3 %

PANW stock traded down $17.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $380.65. The company had a trading volume of 4,716,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,863,382. The company has a 50 day moving average of $363.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $338.82. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $260.09 and a 1 year high of $408.53. The company has a market capitalization of $123.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.11, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are scheduled to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $79,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32,626 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $24,414,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% during the second quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.