Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $180.93 and last traded at $182.69. Approximately 1,421,928 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 5,920,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $120.24 billion, a PE ratio of 47.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $187.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its 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 during 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 for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total transaction of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. This represents a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sierra Capital LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 90.5% during the 4th quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 7,069 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after buying an additional 3,358 shares in the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 1,997 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 111.8% in the fourth quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 60,627 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $11,032,000 after acquiring an additional 31,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 134.7% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 878 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.