Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 4.7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares fell 4.7% to about $357.52, with trading volume 81% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.68; several firms recently raised their targets as high as $415.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.02 EPS and $3.41 billion in revenue, up 34.5% year over year. However, insiders sold 13,667 shares worth approximately $4.56 million over the past 90 days.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 4.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $361.02 and last traded at $357.5170. 1,606,511 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 8,431,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $375.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $394.00 target price (up from $387.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $326.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $389.68.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $295.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 707.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $352.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total transaction of $242,795.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Key sold 2,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total transaction of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,300. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 13,667 shares of company stock worth $4,560,718 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.