Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Issues Earnings Results

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 37.81% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Palo Alto Networks updated its Q4 guidance to $1.40-1.42 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ PANW opened at $311.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.70 billion, a PE ratio of 45.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $288.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.00. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $188.30 and a 12-month high of $380.84.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.20.

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.