JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $387.00 to $449.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 15.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on PANW. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Northland Securities raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised their price target 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. DA Davidson raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.39.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $389.45. The stock had a trading volume of 529,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,835,099. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $359.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $336.73. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $249.56 and a 52 week high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. This trade represents a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’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 value of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $79,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32,626 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% during the third 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 during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $24,414,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% during the second quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 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.