Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 7.4% on Analyst Downgrade

by · The Cerbat Gem

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) shares were down 7.4% on Thursday after Hsbc Global Res downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating. The stock traded as low as $183.20 and last traded at $185.07. Approximately 15,900,980 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 157% from the average daily volume of 6,182,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.90.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on PANW. HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.09.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Palo Alto Networks

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,215,130 shares of company stock valued at $249,031,488. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,467 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $125.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $208.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-3.900 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 0.930-0.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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