Robert W. Baird Increases Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $375.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target lifted by Robert W. Baird from $360.00 to $375.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PANW. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa America upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Redburn Atlantic cut Palo Alto Networks from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $333.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $343.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $310.68. The company has a market cap of $111.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.91, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $224.64 and a one year high of $380.84.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,167,770. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total value of $17,755,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $99,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,770. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 367,315 shares of company stock valued at $118,696,590. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 363,133 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $107,081,000 after buying an additional 75,183 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,082 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $444,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $3,888,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 10,597 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.