Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.6% - Here's What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $180.12 and last traded at $181.43. Approximately 1,001,689 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,108,466 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PANW. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $120.69 billion, a PE ratio of 102.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $186.34 and its 200-day moving average is $184.74.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.