Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 0.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $189.51 and last traded at $189.51. Approximately 1,470,980 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 7,527,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $123.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.72.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third 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 Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.