Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price traded down 0.1% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $180.93 and last traded at $182.69. 1,421,928 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 5,920,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.79.

Specifically, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $222.50 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $186.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.23. The stock has a market cap of $122.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.