Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.1% – Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $179.70 and last traded at $180.18. Approximately 5,768,750 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 6,275,535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $236.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.25. The stock has a market cap of $125.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.76.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 382,016 shares of company stock valued at $76,386,460 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 31.1% during the second quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.