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

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares opened lower at $365.47 versus the prior close of $375.65 after multiple directors sold shares, including Aparna Bawa’s combined 1,500-share sale and John P. Key’s 2,500-share sale.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 50 analysts and an average price target of $389.68; several firms recently raised their targets to as high as $475.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $3.41 billion, up 34.5% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share, exceeding analyst expectations. Institutional investors own approximately 79.82% of PANW’s shares.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $375.65, but opened at $365.47. Palo Alto Networks shares last traded at $375.9240, with a volume of 1,198,091 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Aparna Bawa sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.18, for a total value of $188,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,862,137.66. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total transaction of $373,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,031,317.57. This trade represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In other news, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total transaction of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,760,300. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Capital One Financial increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $421.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $475.00 price target (up from $420.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $430.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Thirty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $389.68.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $351.44 and its 200-day moving average is $266.73. The company has a market capitalization of $310.55 billion, a PE ratio of 742.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $5,587,100,000 after purchasing an additional 594,789 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $7,734,973,000 after purchasing an additional 205,123 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after purchasing an additional 540,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,993,802,000 after purchasing an additional 706,003 shares during the period. 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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