Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $395.00 to $432.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.95% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $387.00 to $449.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $390.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.56.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $392.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.19, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $362.55 and a 200-day moving average of $338.41. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $258.17 and a 52 week high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at $10,983,359.33. The trade was a 24.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.