Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $386.20 and last traded at $384.56, with a volume of 248068 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $366.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Northland Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 5.2 %

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $353.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.41 billion, a PE ratio of 53.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for 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 revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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