Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $361.43 and last traded at $362.27. 437,192 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 3,966,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $366.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $327.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total value of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,373,165.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,373,165.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 351,452 shares of company stock worth $118,643,279 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,110 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.