Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $290.37 and last traded at $291.77. Approximately 1,189,200 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 5,264,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $295.32.

Specifically, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $294,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $7,629,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 158,917 shares of company stock valued at $44,335,843. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $95.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $285.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.25.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.