Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.6%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $329.61 and last traded at $330.10. 400,180 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,525,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $335.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $105.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $321.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.92, for a total transaction of $497,517.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 20,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.24, for a total transaction of $10,376,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,295,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,434,232.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 428,391 shares of company stock worth $136,147,317 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,956 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Bensler LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 14.7% in the second quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 19,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 22.1% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,684 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Schoolcraft Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. 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.