Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Sells 66,668 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Nikesh Arora sold 66,668 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.54, for a total transaction of $22,436,448.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,228 shares in the company, valued at $233,635,491.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $341.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $310.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.17 and a twelve month high of $380.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.48 billion, a PE ratio of 49.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $365.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,394,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 203.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,363 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,917,000 after acquiring an additional 39,817 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,338 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,787 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 216.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 38,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,909,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. 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.