Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $180.12 and last traded at $182.09. 1,902,878 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 5,916,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $195.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.19. The firm has a market cap of $122.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a PEG ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the third quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,741,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 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.