Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.6% - Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $174.31 and last traded at $176.65. Approximately 914,243 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,887,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.06.

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Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $117.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $198,214,409.80. This trade represents a 31.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,210.72. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 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.

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