Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $342.44 and last traded at $342.08. Approximately 314,262 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,769,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.29.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.63. The stock has a market cap of $110.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.57, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 362,525 shares of company stock valued at $110,064,607 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GSG Advisors LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 5,160 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 300 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 112,040 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $33,038,000 after purchasing an additional 26,767 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 24,726 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $7,291,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 91.0% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,683 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 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.