Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares traded down 0.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $176.20 and last traded at $177.90. 936,200 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,989,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Guggenheim downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $186.05 and its 200-day moving average is $184.78. The stock has a market cap of $119.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by 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.