Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $170.98 and last traded at $169.87. Approximately 8,607,562 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 10,292,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. UBS Group set a $183.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating 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 report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus raised Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 4.9%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.58. The company has a market capitalization of $138.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 149,552 shares of company stock worth $27,779,427 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.