Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 3.4% – Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares traded down 3.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $185.43 and last traded at $186.32. 1,601,127 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 6,006,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $195.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $122.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.65.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results 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. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.