Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $335.52 and last traded at $338.56. Approximately 620,628 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 4,173,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.0 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $336.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.61. The company has a market capitalization of $109.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total transaction of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,452,097.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $336,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 150,868 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $44,488,000 after buying an additional 13,410 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $2,454,000. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 10,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,110,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.