Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Downgraded to Reduce Rating by HSBC

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) was downgraded by stock analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $291.00 price objective on the network technology company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $304.00. HSBC’s price target indicates a potential downside of 26.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.78.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $397.41 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $260.09 and a 52-week high of $408.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $363.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $338.82.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are set to split before the market opens on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total transaction of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 31,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. This trade represents a 24.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. This trade represents a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Hedge funds and other 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.