Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.9% – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $168.74 and last traded at $168.06. Approximately 7,946,977 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 11,226,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Argus raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $137.14 billion, a PE ratio of 92.85, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.74.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.