Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares dropped 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $189.05 and last traded at $190.80. Approximately 6,425,337 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 6,695,210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 15th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $236.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.99.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $131.75 billion, a PE ratio of 119.63, a PEG ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.15.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the company’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 value of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.94, for a total transaction of $26,321,485.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 356,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,675,777.46. This trade represents a 25.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 261,248 shares of company stock worth $53,316,149 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.