Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.8% - Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $181.90 and last traded at $182.85. Approximately 673,558 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 7,459,403 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $120.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $191.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,231,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 571,172 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.