Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.7% – Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares traded down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $186.55 and last traded at $187.73. Approximately 6,211,516 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 6,039,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $192.31 and a 200 day moving average of $195.86. The company has a market cap of $130.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 382,016 shares of company stock valued at $76,386,460. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.