Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares fell 3% to about $384.27, although the stock remains well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $339.61; however, the stock’s valuation is elevated, including a P/E ratio near 315 and a PEG ratio of 12.99.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.85 EPS and $3 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. Insiders have sold roughly $27.2 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 79.82% of shares.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were down 3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $380.85 and last traded at $384.27. Approximately 4,217,213 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 8,771,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $396.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Argus set a $425.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $339.61.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $325.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $313.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 314.98, a PEG ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. 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. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This represents a 21.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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