Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1% – Here’s Why

by · The Cerbat Gem

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANWGet Free Report)’s share price traded up 1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $193.20 and last traded at $190.85. 5,334,766 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 6,054,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Mizuho set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.86.

View Our Latest Report on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $133.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $193.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANWGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The company’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 382,016 shares of company stock valued at $76,386,460 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

(Get Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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