Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.26-2.29 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.22. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.53-1.55 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.53 billion.Palo Alto Networks also updated its FY 2022 guidance to $7.43-$7.46 EPS.
Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $2.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $436.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,998,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,739,002. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $337.13 and a 1 year high of $640.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $569.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.75. The stock has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.06 and a beta of 1.28.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 22nd. The network technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a negative return on equity of 42.84% and a negative net margin of 9.50%. The company’s revenue was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.42) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post -1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $610.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $625.00 to $600.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 22nd. They issued an outperform rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the stock from $600.00 to $620.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks to $600.00 in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $629.03.
In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.46, for a total transaction of $1,678,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 252,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,088,102.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 25,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.67, for a total transaction of $13,954,917.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,032 shares of company stock valued at $40,587,677 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 861,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $536,041,000 after purchasing an additional 8,994 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 151.8% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 198,339 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $123,468,000 after purchasing an additional 119,565 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 171,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $95,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 157,039 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $87,433,000 after purchasing an additional 14,229 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 67,505 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $42,023,000 after purchasing an additional 45,730 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Palo Alto Networks Company Profile (Get Rating)
Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; Panorama, a security management solution for the control of firewall appliances and software deployed on an end-customer’s network and instances in public or private cloud environments, as a virtual or a physical appliance; and virtual system upgrades, which are available as extensions to the virtual system capacity that ships with physical appliances.