Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) dropped 1.2% during trading on Friday 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 $167.13 and last traded at $167.69. Approximately 4,768,742 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 5,880,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.76.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PANW. UBS Group increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 490,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $89,532,411.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,214,409.80. This represents a 31.11 % 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 valued at $181,925,602. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $548,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,886,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $244,871,000 after buying an additional 606,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 3,023 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $111.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $180.06 and its 200 day moving average is $184.73.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.