Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $156.36, but opened at $147.55. Palo Alto Networks shares last traded at $146.9670, with a volume of 3,575,259 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 6.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $119.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $165.22 and its 200-day moving average is $187.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 144,252 shares of company stock valued at $26,947,635 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth 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 stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.