Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price was up 2.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $173.53 and last traded at $172.46. Approximately 858,417 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 5,885,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.84. The company has a market capitalization of $114.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.78, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors 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.