Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was down 5.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $357.26 and last traded at $362.09. 8,506,501 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 8,568,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.13.

More Palo Alto Networks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects Palo Alto Networks to exceed consensus forecasts for remaining performance obligations, annual recurring revenue and total revenue, with product growth potentially reaching 18% year over year. Palo Alto Networks set to beat fiscal Q4 metrics, guide above consensus
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its price target to $430 from $320 and maintained a “sector outperform” rating, implying continued upside based on its outlook for the cybersecurity provider.
• Positive Sentiment: Longer term, rising cyber threats and increasing adoption of artificial intelligence support demand for Palo Alto Networks’ AI-enabled security platforms. Top AI-Powered Security Stocks Worth Buying Amid Rising Cyber Threats
• Neutral Sentiment: PANW has climbed about 30% since its prior quarterly results, substantially outperforming the broader software sector. That momentum reflects optimism but also sets a high bar for the upcoming report. Big Software Names Bounced Back in August
• Negative Sentiment: A broad software-stock selloff is pressuring Palo Alto Networks despite favorable company-specific developments, suggesting investors are focusing on high valuation multiples and macroeconomic risks rather than fundamentals. CrowdStrike Falls Despite Optiv Milestone, Palo Alto Drops
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also contending with higher oil prices, inflation concerns and rising Treasury yields, all of which can weigh on growth-stock valuations. The company’s results and guidance after the close may therefore determine whether the recent rally can continue. Market Open: Inflation and Treasury Yields

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho set a $415.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $320.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.87.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 5.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $295.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 296.80, a P/E/G ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $346.54 and a 200 day moving average of $250.56.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.77, for a total value of $318,393.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 73,354 shares in the company, valued at $25,950,444.58. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,735 shares of company stock valued at $10,814,266. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.