Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) President Sells 1,475 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $341.20 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.17 and a fifty-two week high of $380.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.48 billion, a PE ratio of 49.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 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.