Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 0% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shot up 0% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $217.00 to $240.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $199.18 and last traded at $196.41. 1,169,485 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 5,730,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.40.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.77.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $129.09 billion, a PE ratio of 51.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.17.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.