Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.6% - Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $196.85 and last traded at $196.77. Approximately 1,004,186 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,391,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Stephens downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.16.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $195.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.10. The stock has a market cap of $131.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares in the company, valued at $8,452,332. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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