Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $207.24 and last traded at $204.81, with a volume of 2079633 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $202.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $207.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $227.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Hsbc Global Res cut Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $66.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $191.18 and its 200 day moving average is $174.73.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 571,172 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,609,486,000 after buying an additional 220,900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after acquiring an additional 255,060 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $757,321,000 after purchasing an additional 114,742 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.