Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 4% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price was down 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $177.73 and last traded at $177.63. Approximately 1,561,564 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,710,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a PE ratio of 97.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811. 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 business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $244,871,000 after buying an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.