Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 0% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price fell 0% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $186.65 and last traded at $188.19. 447,106 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 7,522,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PANW. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $207.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $191.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.28. The firm has a market cap of $124.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

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

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.