Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 1.5% - Here's What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $190.05 and last traded at $190.22. 699,247 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,958,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $123.17 billion, a PE ratio of 48.88, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $188.40 and a 200 day moving average of $178.93.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth 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 period. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.