Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $440.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $385.00 to $440.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 10.90% from the stock’s current price.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.28.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $5.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $396.77. 207,147 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,847,385. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $234.15 and a fifty-two week high of $408.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $357.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.76, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 31.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 25,355 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,666,000 after acquiring an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 560.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 6,600 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 8,391 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.8% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 39,113 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $13,369,000 after buying an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 14,134 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,831,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.