Key Points
- CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares on March 27 at an average price of $146.87, a roughly $10.0M purchase that increased his stake by 24.73% to 343,394 shares (≈$50.43M).
- Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.03 (vs. $0.94 est.) and revenue of $2.59B (+14.9% YoY); the company carries a market cap of about $120B and a P/E of 81.23.
- Analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $210.19, and institutional investors own roughly 79.82% of the shares.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Palo Alto Networks Price Performance
Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $147.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.36. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.19.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on PANW
Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 20,370.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 17,077 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,495,000 after buying an additional 3,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.
About Palo Alto Networks
(
Get Free Report)
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.
Further Reading
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