Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares fell 2% on Wednesday, closing at $335.28 after trading as low as $328.64, with volume below its daily average.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on PANW: several firms recently raised their price targets, and the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target of $331.48.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 and revenue of $3 billion, both beating estimates; revenue rose 31.1% year over year, even as insiders have been net sellers in recent months.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) fell 2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $328.64 and last traded at $335.28. 6,248,643 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 9,143,839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PANW. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.48.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $273.25 billion, a PE ratio of 274.82, a P/E/G ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $295.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.74.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at $42,058,590. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $65,796,000 after buying an additional 53,485 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $104,774,000 after acquiring an additional 29,230 shares during the period. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 4,659 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,926,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,554,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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