Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Hold Rating from Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $190.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $207.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.26% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $210.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $175.51 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $191.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.30. The firm has a market cap of $115.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. 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 company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,030,906 shares of company stock valued at $191,569,355 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $79,149,000 after buying an additional 32,626 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,414,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $67,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,173 shares in 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.