Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $449.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $387.00 to $449.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on PANW. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.39.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.0 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $386.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $249.56 and a 1-year high of $408.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $337.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. The trade was a 9.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.