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 that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Monday, May 5th, Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98.
• On Monday, April 7th, Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.3%

PANW stock traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.60. 3,304,756 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,524,412. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.09 billion, a PE ratio of 112.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.09.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 99.9% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 141,708 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,785,000 after buying an additional 70,820 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 102.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 38,002 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $6,915,000 after acquiring an additional 19,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 107.7% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,323 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. 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.