Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was down 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $185.04 and last traded at $185.61. Approximately 847,047 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 6,001,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $188.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.87. The firm has a market cap of $122.65 billion, a PE ratio of 48.65, a PEG ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.