Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 2.4% - Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) rose 2.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $173.53 and last traded at $172.46. Approximately 858,417 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,885,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,737 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $22,127,000 after buying an additional 5,133 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,606 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,915,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 16,836 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,754,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.