Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) fell 0.4% during trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $455.00 to $230.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as low as $182.67 and last traded at $183.41. 588,266 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 7,440,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.20.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.46.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,643,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,730,831.62. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $119.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.57.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current 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.