Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) EVP Sells $21,564,000.00 in Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $3.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $175.51. 6,485,771 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,602,155. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.04 and a 52 week high of $207.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $191.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.20.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. OTR Global reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $210.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Rosenblatt Securities raised Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $195.00 to $215.00 in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.72.

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.