Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 2.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded down 2.5% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $167.10 and last traded at $168.65. 1,149,405 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 5,890,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.02.

Specifically, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. JMP Securities increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.83. The company has a market cap of $110.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.