Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 5.5% on Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price fell 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $163.31 and last traded at $163.61. 2,473,357 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 5,869,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.18.

Specifically, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. KeyCorp increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have 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 an average target price of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $101.68 billion, a PE ratio of 86.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,986 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,387,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 16,203 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 109.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,355 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at $5,117,000. 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.