Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $450.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $400.00 to $450.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $387.00 to $449.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Northland Securities increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $397.41 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $363.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $338.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.40 billion, a PE ratio of 54.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $260.09 and a fifty-two week high of $408.53.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are scheduled to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.