Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 7.2% – What’s Next?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded down 7.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $154.05 and last traded at $154.77. 12,749,095 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 82% from the average session volume of 6,994,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. HSBC cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 129,415 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $24,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,148,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 24,096 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $4,439,000 after purchasing an additional 8,176 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 155,468 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,637,000 after purchasing an additional 8,970 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.