Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 2.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares fell by 2.7%, closing at $168.15, with significant trading volume at 5,095,501 shares, a decrease of 15% from the average.
• Analysts maintain varied ratings on the stock, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $209.61.
• The company reported $0.80 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.3%.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $167.10 and last traded at $168.15. 5,095,501 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 5,975,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim restated a "sell" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Northland Securities cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.61.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $195.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.10. The stock has a market cap of $112.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.06, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,080. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $810,047,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after buying an additional 4,486,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $633,068,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047,625 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.