Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price cut by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.25% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PANW. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $167.69 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.61 and a 200 day moving average of $184.71. The company has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a PE ratio of 94.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $137.60 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. NBT Bank N A NY increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 27,902 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,761,000 after purchasing an additional 7,147 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.0% in the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,917 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 305.6% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 6,535 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,924 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the first quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 3,198 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivid Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,507,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.