Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $189.14 and last traded at $186.14. Approximately 1,007,973 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,023,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and cut their target price for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BTIG Research lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $122.99 billion, a PE ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.59.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. This trade represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 32,626 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,414,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.