Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) was down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $202.77 and last traded at $205.45. Approximately 1,150,984 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,276,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BTIG Research cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.70.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $187.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm’s 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 $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Tradewinds LLC. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Geneva Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,741,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 750 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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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