Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 3% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Cerbat Gem

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) fell 3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $185.71 and last traded at $185.88. 6,216,499 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 6,177,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, New Street Research boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.79.

Read Our Latest Research Report on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.0%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $203.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.55. The stock has a market cap of $127.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,878,351.95. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total transaction of $132,573.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,864,398.95. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock worth $251,702,305 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

(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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