Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 0.6% - Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) fell 0.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $144.15 and last traded at $152.66. 3,741,131 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 5,863,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.52.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $110.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day moving average is $182.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.81.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total transaction of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 939,318 shares of company stock worth $165,384,602. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 5,658 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,886,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $244,871,000 after buying an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.