Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 0.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.1% during trading on Wednesday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $205.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as low as $170.47 and last traded at $173.30. 771,512 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,873,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.55.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stephens began coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,543,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. This represents a 2.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% during the first quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Snider Financial Group boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 17,729 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.3% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 1,310 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.47, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $180.06 and a 200-day moving average of $184.73.

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

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.