Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $188.88 and last traded at $190.00. Approximately 1,594,130 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 5,390,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $125.92 billion, a PE ratio of 108.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.97. The company's fifty day moving average is $195.05 and its 200-day moving average is $185.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 41,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,452,332. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 215.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,828 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 15,788 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 8,223 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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