Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 1.2% on Wednesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $365.00 to $360.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as low as $303.20 and last traded at $307.90. Approximately 1,802,871 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 5,149,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.66.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.45.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $36,334,289.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at $49,895,983.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 121,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total transaction of $36,334,289.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,895,983.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 280,193 shares of company stock worth $80,670,132 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,572,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,118,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,239 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $1,563,020,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,430,299 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $804,199,000 after acquiring an additional 86,995 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,136,547 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $924,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,814,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $799,792,000 after buying an additional 198,078 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $289.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 37.81% and a net margin of 31.42%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.