Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 0.8% – Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price dropped 0.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $187.63 and last traded at $188.08. Approximately 435,352 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 7,498,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BTIG Research increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $227.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $217.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.5 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.64. The company has a market cap of $123.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at $174,124,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $150,520,000 after purchasing an additional 444,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $94,875,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.