Lee Klarich Sells 120,000 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of PANW stock traded down $3.99 on Tuesday, hitting $175.51. The stock had a trading volume of 6,485,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,602,155. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.04 and a twelve month high of $207.24. The firm has a market cap of $115.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.20.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Norway Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 30,606 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,569,000 after buying an additional 14,905 shares in the last quarter. First County Bank CT boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.2% during the 4th quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 5,507 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 2,501 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 749 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 258.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 16,359 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 11,798 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 9,318 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $222.50 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut Palo Alto Networks from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.72.

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.

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