Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 3.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $161.45 and last traded at $163.02. Approximately 1,736,268 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 5,890,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. BTIG Research cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $182.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.46 billion, a PE ratio of 94.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 939,318 shares of company stock valued at $165,384,602 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Snider Financial Group grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 17,729 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 906 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 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.