Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Set to Split on Monday, December 16th

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares are going to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, December 13th.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $392.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $371.26 and its 200-day moving average is $343.96. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $260.09 and a one year high of $408.53. The firm has a market cap of $128.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $410.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 81,586 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.99, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 618,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. The trade was a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 168,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.39, for a total value of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,821,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 285,586 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.