BTIG Research Has Lowered Expectations for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at BTIG Research from $248.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.99% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on PANW. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $228.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.38.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $165.30 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $183.56 and its 200 day moving average is $192.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.62, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,878,351.95. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.