Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $161.89 and last traded at $162.95. Approximately 15,056,352 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 10,795,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 4.0%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.72. The firm has a market cap of $132.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.03, a PEG ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.