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

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shot up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $172.40 and last traded at $172.37. 592,107 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 5,878,544 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.27.

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Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $110.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. RB Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the third quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Zega Financial LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.