Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Sells $31,730,609.68 in Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Nikesh Arora also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, January 3rd, Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44.
• On Thursday, October 10th, Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $3.75 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $179.50. 7,104,380 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,307,088. The company has a market cap of $117.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.04 and a twelve month high of $207.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.03.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.72.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.