Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 3.2%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price fell 3.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $281.62 and last traded at $284.45. 971,636 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,439,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $293.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PANW. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $94.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $287.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total value of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 45,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.03, for a total transaction of $15,436,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,955,958.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is 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.