Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $185.04 and last traded at $185.61. 847,047 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,001,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $217.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.4 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.