Morgan Stanley Reiterates Overweight Rating for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $360.00 price objective on the network technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 16.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PANW. Capital One Financial lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $302.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Northland Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.45.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $308.58 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $289.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.85, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $188.83 and a 1-year high of $380.84.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other 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 value of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $30,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.