Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $401.94 and last traded at $399.68, with a volume of 123701 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $398.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.87.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $356.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $334.54. The company has a market cap of $131.05 billion, a PE ratio of 54.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,319 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 420,902 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $119,591,000 after acquiring an additional 78,260 shares during the period. TBH Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 101.5% during the 1st quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 9,495 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 4,784 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 828.7% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 48,571 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,800,000 after acquiring an additional 43,341 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.