Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $144.15 and last traded at $152.66. 3,741,131 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 5,863,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PANW. Scotiabank upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 13.4 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.91. The firm has a market cap of $114.56 billion, a PE ratio of 97.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 939,318 shares of company stock worth $165,384,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $36,316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,835 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,109,000. Geller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $238,000. Finally, Executive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $3,468,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.