Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $415.00 Price Target at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $395.00 to $415.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $387.00 to $449.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $383.36 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $260.09 and a 52 week high of $408.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $364.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $339.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are scheduled to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This represents a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at $10,983,359.33. This trade represents a 24.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,606 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,737 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $22,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,827,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.1% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,690 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.