Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $189.16 and last traded at $188.57. 921,991 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,930,343 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $187.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,474 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 199.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,822,336 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $333,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,073 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,634,701 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $297,450,000 after purchasing an additional 848,127 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,562,722 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $284,353,000 after purchasing an additional 796,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.