Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) PT Raised to $385.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target raised by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $345.00 to $385.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on PANW. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, July 18th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.49.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $359.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.49 billion, a PE ratio of 52.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $224.64 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $328.90 and its 200 day moving average is $311.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 125,866 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total value of $42,165,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,791,570. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,372 shares of company stock worth $118,440,693. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.