Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) fell 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $180.86 and last traded at $181.80. 888,780 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 7,451,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $207.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.46.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $117.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $191.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.57.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $1,156,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 231,566 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $79,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32,626 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $24,414,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 196,700 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $67,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.