Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Nikesh Arora Sells 81,586 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Nikesh Arora also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 4th, Nikesh Arora sold 66,666 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.98, for a total value of $22,865,104.68.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.1 %

PANW stock opened at $374.44 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.81 and a 12-month high of $380.84. The stock has a market cap of $121.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.42, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $345.25 and its 200 day moving average is $321.26.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Barclays increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the first quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,111.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 109 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.