Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.1% - Here's Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $361.43 and last traded at $362.27. Approximately 437,192 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 3,966,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $366.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $376.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $376.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.1 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $352.29 and a 200 day moving average of $327.33. The firm has a market cap of $117.98 billion, a PE ratio of 49.98, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at $377,373,165.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.93, for a total transaction of $17,755,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,055,533.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.77, for a total transaction of $11,439,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,187,567 shares in the company, valued at $377,373,165.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 351,452 shares of company stock valued at $118,643,279. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,110 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.