Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Now Covered by Analysts at Stephens

Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 price target on the network technology company's stock. Stephens' price target indicates a potential upside of 19.67% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PANW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.27.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.4 %

PANW stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,034,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,899,185. The company's fifty day moving average is $187.01 and its 200-day moving average is $185.46. The company has a market capitalization of $113.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $132.50 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zega Financial LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 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.