Jefferies Financial Group Raises Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $240.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $225.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $210.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $186.78 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $191.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,231,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.