Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Sells 227,414 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Nikesh Arora also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 3rd, Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35.
• On Monday, January 6th, Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68.
• On Friday, January 3rd, Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total value of $43,170,393.44.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $153.57 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.83 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $101.68 billion, a PE ratio of 86.52, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.22.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, March 31st. BTIG Research lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 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.