Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Upgraded to Buy at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Rosenblatt Securities currently has $430.00 price objective on the network technology company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $390.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PANW. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna raised their price target 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 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $385.04 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $363.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $338.82. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $260.09 and a 52-week high of $408.53. The company has a market cap of $125.37 billion, a PE ratio of 54.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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. This represents a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% in 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 buying an additional 32,626 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after buying an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,414,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $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.