Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.1% Higher - Time to Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $363.68 and last traded at $362.69. Approximately 286,790 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 3,954,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $118.97 billion, a PE ratio of 50.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.13. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $352.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $327.33.

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 (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 company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,782 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $323.41, for a total value of $64,682.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 159,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.