Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.3%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $332.13 and last traded at $333.09. 535,599 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 4,707,025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.29.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $107.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $314.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total value of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 428,391 shares of company stock valued at $136,147,317. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.