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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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 shares were 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 transaction 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 Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $8.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,362,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,849. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $186.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $132.50 and a one year high of $208.39.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $455.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.27.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 109.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,355 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,117,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 1,010 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,794 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 47,864 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,168,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.