Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.2% After Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares were down 1.2% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $367.40 and last traded at $370.00. Approximately 229,086 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 4,047,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $374.44.

Specifically, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $366.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.28.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $346.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $321.63. The company has a market capitalization of $120.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.25, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.13.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 32.11%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised 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 buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.