Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 3.1% - Here's Why

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) fell 3.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $161.45 and last traded at $163.02. 1,736,268 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 5,890,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.52.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $112.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.76, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $182.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.90.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at $65,353,042.65. This trade represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value 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 $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 1,039,318 shares of company stock valued at $181,925,602 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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.