Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Mizuho from $200.00 to $265.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.13% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PANW. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $242.83 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $245.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.81 and a 200-day moving average of $180.99.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.