Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.5%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares dropped 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $340.56 and last traded at $341.00. Approximately 419,500 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 4,236,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $346.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.1 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $336.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.38. The company has a market capitalization of $110.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,924.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,110 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sepio Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 944 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 1,479 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.