Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 5.2% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price fell 5.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $163.33 and last traded at $166.24. 9,898,587 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 51% from the average session volume of 6,574,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Barclays increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $187.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.46. The firm has a market cap of $115.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $675,865,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $340,883,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $430,755,000 after buying an additional 1,041,145 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.