Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price dropped 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $194.83 and last traded at $197.73. 1,985,372 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 6,283,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.70.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $131.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.81, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $187.23 and its 200 day moving average is $182.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,458,864 shares of company stock worth $269,397,331 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 786,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $268,851,000 after purchasing an additional 129,371 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 106,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,316,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 6,541 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 351 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 59.2% during the third quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 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.