Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $356.00 and last traded at $359.63. Approximately 283,525 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 3,920,595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $364.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.49.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $352.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.83, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 255,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,383,077 in the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after buying an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $177,933,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 444,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 444,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $150,520,000 after acquiring an additional 444,100 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $94,875,000. Hedge funds and other 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.