Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 0.4% - Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were down 0.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $171.19 and last traded at $172.16. Approximately 1,705,782 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 5,815,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. OTR Global reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $113.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.23.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The company's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tradewinds LLC. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the third quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during 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.