Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Hsbc Global Res cut Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $188.22 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $130.04 and a 52 week high of $207.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.99. The company has a market cap of $123.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,231,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 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. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.