Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 2.9% Following Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price fell 2.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $173.18 and last traded at $174.35. 2,537,696 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 4,464,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.50.

Specifically, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. StockNews.com lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna boosted 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, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.72.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.9 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.