Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 2.5% Following Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.5% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $167.10 and last traded at $168.65. 1,149,405 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 5,890,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.02.

Specifically, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.52.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $112.25 billion, a PE ratio of 95.52, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day moving average price is $182.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.90.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,658 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.