Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Falls 1.4% – Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) traded down 1.4% on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $315.44 and last traded at $326.36. Approximately 4,434,853 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 8,024,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, August 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Mizuho set a $415.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.55.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.4%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $369.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.33. The company has a market cap of $267.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 639.93, a PEG ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.96. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total value of $7,533,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total transaction of $10,769,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,750 shares in the company, valued at $46,110,900. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,610,748,000 after buying an additional 1,493,179 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,734,973,000 after acquiring an additional 205,123 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,142,895 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,235,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386,906 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 706,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.