Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.9% Higher – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price traded up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $193.40 and last traded at $191.29. 786,712 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,306,849 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.1 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.12. The company has a market capitalization of $124.14 billion, a PE ratio of 105.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.