Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $395.00 at Citigroup

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target increased by research analysts at Citigroup from $385.00 to $395.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.04% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.76.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 8.5 %

PANW traded up $29.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $372.49. 6,676,979 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,402,795. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $224.64 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $310.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.91, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.31, for a total transaction of $10,559,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,259,567 shares in the company, valued at $369,443,596.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 367,315 shares of company stock worth $118,696,590. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in 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 period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,110 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.