Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) shares fell by 1.3%, trading around $200.70, with a volume decrease of 22% compared to the average session volume.
• Analysts have varying price targets for the stock, with a consensus target of $212.39 and 29 analysts rating it as a Buy.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, including EVP Nir Zuk selling 100,000 shares for $17.28 million, indicating a potential shift in insider confidence.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $200.22 and last traded at $200.70. 5,004,587 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 6,396,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group set a $185.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.39.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.3%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $189.17 and a 200-day moving average of $186.89. The stock has a market cap of $134.25 billion, a PE ratio of 125.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.20, for a total value of $128,940.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 37,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,948,576.60. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 563,622 shares of company stock worth $105,459,528 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.

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