Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $376.00 to $425.00. The stock had previously closed at $337.94, but opened at $345.40. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks shares last traded at $352.44, with a volume of 451,390 shares changing hands.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PANW. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Redburn Atlantic cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $371.50.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $47,055,533.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $8,014,746.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,055,533.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 269,866 shares of company stock worth $88,620,447. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $799,792,000 after purchasing an additional 198,078 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $757,321,000 after buying an additional 114,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,511 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $339,183,000 after buying an additional 73,922 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $114.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $338.26 and a 200-day moving average of $317.74.

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

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.