Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) fell 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $169.60 and last traded at $173.21. 6,949,680 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 9,983,407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.60. The stock has a market cap of $141.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.70, a P/E/G ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after buying an additional 7,301 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $136,859,000 after purchasing an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.