Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Rating Lowered by HSBC

HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. HSBC currently has $291.00 target price on the network technology company's stock, down from their previous target price of $304.00.

PANW has been the topic of several other reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. OTR Global reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $14.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $383.36. The stock had a trading volume of 6,227,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,865,024. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $260.09 and a 1 year high of $408.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $363.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $338.82.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks are scheduled to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.08. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.