Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) EVP Sells 120,774 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total transaction of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,298,914.52. The trade was a 33.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Lee Klarich also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 4th, Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36.
• On Monday, May 5th, Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $4.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $187.39. 7,403,780 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,412,713. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.01 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The company has a market capitalization of $124.95 billion, a PE ratio of 107.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 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.