Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 2.7% - Here's What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $200.90 and last traded at $201.09. Approximately 1,607,066 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 5,385,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PANW. Northland Securities lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.16.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $133.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $195.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,080. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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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