The stock of Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) increased by $1.38 on Monday to finish at $219.34, up 0.63 percent. The last five days have seen an average of 4,834,220 shares of common stock traded. 40 times new highs were reached in the current year, with a gain of $79.80. The average number of shares traded over the last 20 days was 4,688,540, while the average volume over the last 50 days totaled 6,373,032.
PANW stock dropped -9.09% since last month. On 08/08/23, the company’s shares reached a one-month low of $208.02. The stock touched a high of $258.88 on 07/05/23, after rallying from a low of $132.22 in 52 weeks. The price of PANW stock has risen by 57.19% or $79.80 this year, reaching a new high 40 times. Still, the stock price is down -15.27% from the 52-week high.
Insider Transactions
PANW stock investors should be aware that Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 8 days ago on Aug 07. On Aug 07, EVP, Chief Product Officer Klarich Lee sold 45,000 shares at $215.17 each. This transaction resulted in the insider making $9,682,621. On Aug 01, ZUK NIR sold 36,000 shares at a price of US$251.85. After the transaction, the insider now owns 1,594,898 shares. Chief Accounting Officer Paul Josh D. had earlier sold 250 shares on Aug 01 for $249.89 a share. The transaction was completed for $62,472.
Valuation Metrics
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 344.33. Beta for the stock is 1.21. There are also a few other valuation ratios worth considering, including the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 10.15, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 54.02, and the price-to-cash flow ratio of 24.06.
Financial Health
For the three months ended April 29, Palo Alto Networks Inc.’s quick ratio was 0.70, while its current ratio was 0.70, indicating its inability to pay off its debt. As far as profitability goes, gross margin for the trailing twelve months is 70.80% percent. Palo Alto Networks Inc.’s EBITDA margin for the year ended April 29 was 2.69%, whereas its operating margin stood at 2.30% for the same period. Based on annual data, it had gross profit of $3.78 billion and revenue of $5.5 billion.
Investors will also look at the performance of the company’s management in order to determine the potential profitability of their investment. PANW’s return on assets (ROA) during the last 12 months has been 1.70%. There was a -6.40% return on investment (ROI) in the past year. In the meantime, the return on equity (ROE) for the last 12 months was 32.10%.
Earnings Surprise
According to Palo Alto Networks Inc.’s quarterly financial report for the quarter that ended April 29, it had $1.97 billion in cash and short-term investments. A higher net income was reported in the quarter under review than the previous quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $1.72 billion, while revenues rose by 19.42% to $1.66 billion. It was predicted that Palo Alto Networks Inc.’s quarterly earnings would be $1.1, but it ended up being $0.93, beating the consensus by 18.30%. EBITDA was $246.2 million for the quarter. At the end of Palo Alto Networks Inc.’s most recent quarter ended April 29, its liabilities totaled 12.94 billion, while its total debt was $3.95 billion. Equity owned by shareholders amounts to $305.86 million.
Technical Picture
Here’s a quick look at Palo Alto Networks Inc.’s (PANW) price momentum from a technical perspective. As of 14 August, the RSI 9-day stood at 35.98%, suggesting the stock is Neutral, with a 52.91% historical volatility rate.
The stochastic %K and %D were 19.78% and 15.38% respectively, while the average true range (ATR) was 7.71. Based on the 14-day stochastic reading of 24.60%, the RSI (14) reading is 38.32%. On the 9-day MACD Oscillator, the stock is at -3.27, and the 14-day reading is at -13.26.
Analyst Ratings
In a note to investors, Wolfe Research maintained its an Outperform rating on Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW). However, the firm raised their price target to $225, indicating a possible decrease of -4.45% in the stock price. Analysts have assigned Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) an Buy rating. PANW is a stock that is recommended for selling by 0 brokerage firms, while 4 companies recommend holding. The stock is underweighted by 0 analysts. Among the analysts who rate the stock, 5 rates it overweight and 33 others recommend it as a buy.
What is PANW’s price target for the next 12 months?
The current consensus forecast for the stock is between $220.00 and $305.00, with a median target price of $252.50. In analyzing these forecasts, the average price target given by analysts for Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) is $257.08.
