Mizuho Lowers Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $220.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Mizuho from $235.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports. Mizuho’s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.61% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.26.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $188.66 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $132.22 and a 1 year high of $203.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,572.75, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The network technology company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.62% and a net margin of 0.56%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.59, for a total value of $102,447.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,113.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.20, for a total value of $6,739,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,774,898 shares in the company, valued at $332,260,905.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 555 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.59, for a total transaction of $102,447.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,113.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 271,380 shares of company stock valued at $51,233,846. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.8% during the first quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd now owns 14,224 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 7,034 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $583,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 21,601 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,315,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Institutional investors own 81.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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Palo Alto Networks, Inc engages in the provision of network security solutions to enterprises, service providers, and government entities. It operates through the following geographical segments: the United States, Israel, and Other Countries. The company was founded by Nir Zuk in March 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.