Palo Alto Networks Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PANW)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 36,704 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 30% compared to the typical daily volume of 28,141 call options.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $184.77. The stock had a trading volume of 3,075,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,041,202. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24. The firm has a market cap of $121.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average price is $187.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.65.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tradewinds LLC. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors grew its stake 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 raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,741,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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.