Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $240.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $225.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the network technology company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 26.74% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $222.50 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW traded up $0.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $189.36. 5,465,213 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,542,798. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $191.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.31. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $130.04 and a fifty-two week high of $207.24. The stock has a market cap of $124.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,231,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 571,172 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.