Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares fell 1.2% to $179.32 on Thursday (intraday low $173.11) with about 5.76 million shares traded, roughly 41% below average volume.
• Analysts assign PANW a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a target of $210.07; current sell‑side breakdown: 3 Strong Buy, 35 Buy and 9 Hold, and recent price targets range from $185 to $215.
• The company beat the quarter with $1.03 EPS vs. $0.94 expected and revenue of $2.59B (up 14.9% year‑over‑year), while sell‑side forecasts project about 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) dropped 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $173.11 and last traded at $179.32. Approximately 5,758,809 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 9,741,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank set a $215.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $146.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.07, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $162.89 and a 200 day moving average of $181.42.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth approximately $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $136,859,000 after purchasing an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,077,000 after purchasing an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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