Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Sells $341,440.00 in Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.44, for a total value of $341,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 41,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,175,564.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $350.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.98, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.49. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.64 and a 52-week high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The network technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 31.42%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $334.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.49.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 106 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.