Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 2.9% – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares were up 2.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $159.55 and last traded at $159.32. Approximately 9,870,730 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 7,061,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $185.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.05 billion, a PE ratio of 100.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 101.9% during the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% during the second quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.