Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares of Palo Alto Networks were down about 1% midday to $180.99 after trading as low as $180.74, with volume at ~6.41 million shares (a 35% decline versus the daily average); the stock has a market cap of $147.7 billion and a PE near 100.
• Several analysts have cut price targets (e.g., Goldman Sachs $240→$224, Citigroup $235→$210, Daiwa $212→$175), but the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $210.07.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly EPS ($1.03 vs. $0.94 est.) with revenue of $2.59B (+14.9% YoY), and CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares for roughly $10M, increasing his stake by 24.7%, a notable insider vote of confidence.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) were down 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $180.74 and last traded at $180.99. Approximately 6,413,536 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 9,861,745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of $147.69 billion, a PE ratio of 99.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.96 and a 200 day moving average of $181.62.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after buying an additional 384,985 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $277,828,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,389,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during 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 buying an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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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