Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was down 1.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $250.77 and last traded at $256.75. Approximately 7,132,904 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 9,486,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PANW. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.16.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $209.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $185.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.38.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,355. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.