Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Lowered to $205.00 at Morgan Stanley

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.70% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.91.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $0.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,234,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,875,641. The stock has a market cap of $114.34 billion, a PE ratio of 97.30, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $135.18 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $181.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings 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 increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 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.