Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 0.9%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was down 0.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $338.51 and last traded at $340.93. Approximately 596,899 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,196,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $416.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.08.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.2 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $336.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.98. The stock has a market cap of $111.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.11% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total value of $500,202.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 19,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,452,097.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.00, for a total value of $67,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,916. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.12, for a total transaction of $500,202.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 19,026 shares in the company, valued at $6,452,097.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 464,075 shares of company stock valued at $154,029,567. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,118,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,239 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after buying an additional 198,078 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after buying an additional 114,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,511 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $339,183,000 after buying an additional 73,922 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.