Barclays Increases Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $410.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Barclays from $370.00 to $410.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the network technology company's stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.00% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on PANW. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $410.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $373.28.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $376.15. 1,472,520 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,048,674. The company has a market capitalization of $121.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $233.81 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $346.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $321.63.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,746.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,746.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 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.