Brokerages Set Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) PT at $372.28

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the forty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $372.28.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $3.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $373.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,298,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,081,229. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $233.81 and a 52 week high of $380.84. The firm has a market cap of $120.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.24, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $342.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total transaction of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,746.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,866 shares of company stock valued at $88,620,447. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 55,282 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $18,895,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 251 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,351 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $541,000. 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.