By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) was down 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $185.01 and last traded at $188.27. Approximately 2,044,588 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 7,519,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.36.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $227.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.40.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on PANW
Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0 %
The firm has a market cap of $125.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.89 and its 200 day moving average is $175.31.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 571,172 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,173 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $174,124,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $150,520,000 after purchasing an additional 444,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $94,875,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.
Featured Articles
Receive News & Ratings for Palo Alto Networks Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Palo Alto Networks and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.