Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.5%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares traded down 1.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $273.70 and last traded at $274.85. 955,120 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 5,650,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.