Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 4.6% Following Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 4.6% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $196.65 and last traded at $196.64. Approximately 2,045,235 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 5,372,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.06.

Specifically, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,298,914.52. This represents a 33.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Stephens lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.4%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $195.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.73. The company has a market capitalization of $124.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the second quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,410 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 9,251 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the second quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 12,932 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bouvel Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 103.3% during the second quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 31,076 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 15,793 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.