Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

PANW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $227.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $172.50 to $177.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.01.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of PANW traded up $5.94 on Monday, reaching $202.50. The stock had a trading volume of 6,084,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,564,503. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $130.04 and a twelve month high of $205.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $191.18 and a 200 day moving average of $174.73.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,231,134 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after purchasing an additional 114,742 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.