Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 7.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks fell 7.4% intraday, trading as low as $183.20 and last at $185.07 on heavy volume of 15.9 million shares (about 157% above the average session volume), after closing the prior day at $199.90.
• Analysts remain largely bullish with 30 Buy ratings versus 10 Holds and a consensus target of $224.68; several firms recently raised price targets (e.g., BofA to $240, BTIG to $248) despite the pullback.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently: CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares (~$172.7M), and insiders sold about 1.215 million shares (~$249M) over the last three months.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) traded down 7.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $183.20 and last traded at $185.07. 15,900,980 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 157% from the average session volume of 6,182,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $230.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.68.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 7.4%

The firm has a market cap of $126.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.31, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $209.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.43.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-3.900 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 0.930-0.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,215,130 shares of company stock valued at $249,031,488. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% during the first quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.3% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 205,053 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $41,957,000 after buying an additional 41,392 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 39,893 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,164,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is 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.

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