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

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $335.93 and last traded at $337.68. 419,735 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,163,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $338.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $108.74 billion, a PE ratio of 49.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $337.02 and its 200 day moving average is $314.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,924.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,668 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.54, for a total value of $22,436,448.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,635,491.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567 over the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.