Macquarie Increases Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $285.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Macquarie from $270.00 to $285.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Macquarie’s target price points to a potential downside of 7.64% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PANW. Barclays cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.45.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $308.58 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.07. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $188.83 and a one year high of $380.84. The company has a market cap of $99.70 billion, a PE ratio of 44.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 37.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 280,193 shares of company stock valued at $80,670,132 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 233 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 1,519 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.