Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded down 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $186.55 and last traded at $187.73. 6,211,516 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 6,039,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $192.31 and its 200 day moving average is $195.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 382,016 shares of company stock valued at $76,386,460 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the third quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,467 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PTM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next?generation firewalls as a core on?premises capability, alongside cloud?delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.