Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) CAO Sells $147,848.00 in Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CAO Josh Paul sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $190.80 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.99 billion, a PE ratio of 120.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.76.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.99.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 848 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 172,928 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,853,000 after purchasing an additional 9,182 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 93,630 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $17,052,000 after purchasing an additional 44,984 shares during 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 (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.