Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 3.1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares fell 3.1% to $363.58 in heavy trading, while the company’s valuation remains elevated with a price-to-earnings ratio of 712.92.
• Despite the decline, Wall Street remains broadly positive: 38 analysts rate the stock a Buy and 12 a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $389.68.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up 34.5% year over year, although insiders have sold 13,667 shares worth approximately $4.56 million over the past 90 days.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 3.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $356.00 and last traded at $363.58. 13,750,356 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 62% from the average daily volume of 8,497,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $375.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Phillip Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research report on Monday, September 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, August 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Thirty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $389.68.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $352.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.33. The company has a market cap of $297.41 billion, a PE ratio of 712.92, a P/E/G ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.18, for a total transaction of $188,590.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,937 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,137.66. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,045,721.30. The trade was a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 13,667 shares of company stock worth $4,560,718 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Altus USA Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 993 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 90.1% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 325 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $382,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,472,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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