Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 0.6% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) traded up 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $189.16 and last traded at $188.57. 921,991 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,930,343 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.91. The stock has a market cap of $119.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased 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 period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.