Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Rating Lowered to Moderate Sell at Hsbc Global Res

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) was downgraded by stock analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $445.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $383.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $364.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $260.09 and a 1-year high of $408.53.

Palo Alto Networks shares are set to split on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,252 shares of company stock valued at $89,041,637 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.