Robert W. Baird Raises Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $360.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price increased by Robert W. Baird from $340.00 to $360.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They set a buy rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $326.29.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $339.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $307.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $307.16. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $201.17 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $109.77 billion, a PE ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total value of $497,517.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total value of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,182 shares of company stock valued at $74,850,597 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.