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

HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. HSBC currently has $291.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $304.00.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PANW. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $387.00 to $449.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.6 %

PANW stock opened at $383.36 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $260.09 and a twelve month high of $408.53. The company has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $364.32 and its 200-day moving average is $339.89.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are scheduled to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted 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 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,359.33. This represents a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted 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 bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.