Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $177.62 and last traded at $177.50. Approximately 1,342,139 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,031,442 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on PANW shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $222.50 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.04.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $190.68 and its 200-day moving average is $178.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.49, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 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.