Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $384.88 and last traded at $384.98. 420,196 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 3,883,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PANW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $410.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $355.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during 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%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock worth $89,383,077. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $79,149,000 after buying an additional 32,626 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $67,232,000 after buying an additional 7,291 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,414,000. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,695 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 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.