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 Thursday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $205.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as low as $167.84 and last traded at $169.12. 768,204 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,866,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.76.

A number of other research firms have also commented on PANW. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29 % 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, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $111.03 billion, a PE ratio of 94.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.