Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.6% Higher - What's Next?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $366.30 and last traded at $365.20. Approximately 634,828 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 4,082,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report 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. Truist Financial raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.50.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $339.77 and a 200-day moving average of $318.54. The firm has a market cap of $119.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,055,533.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,373,165.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 269,866 shares of company stock worth $88,620,447. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during 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 boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st 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 grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 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.