Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $345.00 at Citigroup

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $335.00 to $345.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PANW. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Capital One Financial lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $302.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $317.45.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.0 %

PANW opened at $308.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $99.70 billion, a PE ratio of 44.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $289.10 and a 200-day moving average of $299.07. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $188.83 and a twelve month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, 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 transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 sold 280,193 shares of company stock valued at $80,670,132. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,463 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parisi Gray Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.