Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 4% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price dropped 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $177.73 and last traded at $177.63. Approximately 1,561,564 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 5,710,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.50 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 4.2 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $187.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.38. The company has a market capitalization of $117.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $65,744,323.20. This trade represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,159,581.28. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock valued at $204,315,811. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $244,871,000 after purchasing an additional 606,778 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 103.0% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 97,351 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $17,714,000 after acquiring an additional 49,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.