Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price shot up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $183.53 and last traded at $182.70. 755,407 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 2,577,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.46.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $191.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $2,942,000. Modus Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 37,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,790,000 after purchasing an additional 18,703 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 128.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 7,159 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 256.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 648 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 188 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.