Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.6% Higher – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price was up 1.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $199.74 and last traded at $198.84. Approximately 4,576,915 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 6,209,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.09.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.6%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.20. The company has a market cap of $138.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total value of $132,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,864,398.95. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.94, for a total value of $26,321,485.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 356,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,675,777.46. The trade was a 25.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,260,680. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 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.