Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a report issued on Tuesday morning. The firm issued an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on PANW. HSBC downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $184.01 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $186.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.00. The firm has a market cap of $121.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.67, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.