Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 2.4% – Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares traded down 2.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $184.65 and last traded at $185.81. 1,366,932 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 6,170,257 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $124.65 billion, a PE ratio of 106.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.92.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in 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.