Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) Market Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating restated by equities researchers at JMP Securities in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $300.00 price objective on the network technology company’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target points to a potential upside of 24.45% from the company’s previous close.

PANW has been the topic of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.26.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $15.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $241.07. 11,738,209 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,593,844. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $244.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.55. The company has a market cap of $74.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.33, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.13. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $132.22 and a 52 week high of $265.90.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.15. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 51.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 2,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.01, for a total value of $499,820.40. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 37,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,151,613.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.75, for a total transaction of $170,696.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,017. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 2,040 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.01, for a total value of $499,820.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 37,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,151,613.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,890 shares of company stock valued at $42,637,820 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $2,239,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 174.2% in the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 170 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,194 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 3,588 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,358 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. 85.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.