KeyCorp Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $205.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at KeyCorp from $240.00 to $205.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the network technology company's stock. KeyCorp's target price would suggest a potential upside of 22.25% from the stock's previous close.

PANW has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, HSBC raised Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PANW traded down $2.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $167.69. The company had a trading volume of 4,768,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,872,875. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $137.60 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.73. The stock has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the first quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 73,107 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,475,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Bender Robert & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Bender Robert & Associates now owns 54,452 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $9,292,000 after acquiring an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Greenbush Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Greenbush Financial Group LLC now owns 16,288 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,779,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 200.0% during the first quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co now owns 24,000 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $4,095,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.