Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 2% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) were down 2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $183.28 and last traded at $183.44. Approximately 5,659,055 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 6,176,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.79.

View Our Latest Stock Report on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $203.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total transaction of $132,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,864,398.95. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock worth $251,702,305 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $13,290,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,589 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,055,031,000 after buying an additional 505,924 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,174,029 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,093,262,000 after buying an additional 169,055 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,528,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,532,902,000 after buying an additional 36,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,902,048 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,177,765,000 after acquiring an additional 950,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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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