Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.5%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price fell 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $340.56 and last traded at $341.00. 419,500 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,236,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $346.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on 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, Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.2 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 639,994 shares in the company, valued at $219,505,142.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock worth $154,029,567. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after buying an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after acquiring an additional 255,060 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $799,792,000 after acquiring an additional 198,078 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after acquiring an additional 114,742 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,511 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $339,183,000 after purchasing an additional 73,922 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.