Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 0.1%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) fell 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $270.36 and last traded at $271.75. 1,006,738 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,616,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PANW. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.46.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.18. The stock has a market cap of $89.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total value of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.04, for a total transaction of $16,082,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 174,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,659,063. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock valued at $49,395,553. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. RB Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 602 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Morgens Waterfall Vintiadis & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,910,000. United Bank raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 2,822 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,022,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.