Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $409.16 and last traded at $407.74, with a volume of 798492 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $403.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PANW. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $387.00 to $449.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $373.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $344.79. The company has a market cap of $133.36 billion, a PE ratio of 52.48, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 168,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.39, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,821,758 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 285,586 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after buying an additional 3,249,594 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after buying an additional 114,742 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.