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

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

Specifically, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total transaction of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,482 shares in the company, valued at $47,298,914.52. The trade was a 33.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Stephens lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $124.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $195.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.