BTIG Research Downgrades Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) to Neutral

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) was downgraded by analysts at BTIG Research from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $217.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $172.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.35 and its 200 day moving average is $178.23. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $130.04 and a one year high of $207.24. The firm has a market cap of $113.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 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 analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake 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 lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in 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 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.