Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Upgraded to “Hold” at Roth Capital

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) was upgraded by research analysts at Roth Capital to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.22.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0%

PANW stock opened at $192.90 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $177.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.02. The stock has a market cap of $127.72 billion, a PE ratio of 108.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.