Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 1.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $171.94 and last traded at $172.19. Approximately 1,012,272 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,710,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $114.33 billion, a PE ratio of 97.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $187.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Objective Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.3% in the fourth quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 47,049 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,561,000 after purchasing an additional 23,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 630 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in 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, 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.