Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 0.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded down 0.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $188.75 and last traded at $200.03. 13,981,536 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 157% from the average session volume of 5,443,483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.40.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $131.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $186.73 and its 200 day moving average is $181.99.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 834 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $268,851,000 after purchasing an additional 129,371 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $253,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,316,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.