Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 2.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares fell 2.3% to about $330.65 in mid-day trading, with volume roughly 45% below the average session volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 39 Buy ratings and 11 Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $387.60.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.02 in earnings per share versus a $0.98 estimate and $3.41 billion in revenue, up 34.5% year over year.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $327.05 and last traded at $330.65. Approximately 4,674,214 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 8,484,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $338.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Benchmark raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Northland Securities set a $360.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.60.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.3%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $349.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $269.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 648.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,058,590. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total transaction of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,667 shares of company stock valued at $3,058,443. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.

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