Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 3.4% - Here's What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 3.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $185.43 and last traded at $186.32. 1,601,127 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 6,006,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $217.50 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $217.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $120.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $187.59 and its 200-day moving average is $179.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 867,734 shares of company stock valued at $161,546,523. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently 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.