Susquehanna Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Susquehanna from $420.00 to $435.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “positive” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.47% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $390.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of PANW stock opened at $383.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.88, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $260.09 and a 12 month high of $408.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $364.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.39.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are set to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total transaction of $22,865,104.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,505,142.12. This trade represents a 9.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,983,359.33. This represents a 24.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $536,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,929,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 7,468 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the first quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 25.6% during the first quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 16,142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.