Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 2.9% on Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares traded down 2.9% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $173.18 and last traded at $174.35. 2,537,696 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 4,464,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.50.

Specifically, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PANW. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.72.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.2 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $191.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.30. The company has a market capitalization of $115.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in 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 valued at $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after buying an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position 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 worth $757,321,000 after buying an additional 114,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.