Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 5.5% on Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 5.5% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $163.31 and last traded at $163.61. Approximately 2,473,357 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 5,869,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.18.

Specifically, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.27.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $100.93 billion, a PE ratio of 85.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.36.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.5% during the third quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.