Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 3.4% on Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares fell 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $167.26 and last traded at $169.46. 3,666,808 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 5,139,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.51.

Specifically, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $165.00 to $192.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $195.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $191.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tradewinds LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,315 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 920 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 4,035 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 348 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.