Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares were up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $186.92 and last traded at $185.88. Approximately 7,058,461 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 6,180,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho set a $220.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $236.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, HSBC lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.20.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $129.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.45.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,228,330 shares of company stock valued at $251,702,305 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in 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.