Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 0.3%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $321.40 and last traded at $323.71. Approximately 537,943 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 4,429,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $336.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.59.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $102.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $321.98 and its 200-day moving average is $312.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 166,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,621 shares of Palo Alto Networks 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 directly owns 20,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,166.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 392,391 shares of company stock worth $125,770,677 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,563,020,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29,086.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,057,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $606,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,917 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,616,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $771,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,915 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,569,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,129,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,127 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 359.3% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 957,699 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $282,406,000 after acquiring an additional 749,199 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.