Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) fell 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $167.26 and last traded at $172.83. 11,010,937 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 65% from the average session volume of 6,685,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $222.50 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $79,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32,626 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $24,414,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,291 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is 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.