Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Has Lowered Expectations for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price cut by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $240.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price indicates a potential upside of 45.71% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on PANW. UBS Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Thirty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.51.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.9%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $150.99 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.65. The firm has a market cap of $105.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations—revenue grew ~15% and ARR/RPO metrics point to ongoing subscription momentum; revenue guidance was raised, supporting longer‑term growth thesis. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and other commentary frame the pullback as a “buy‑the‑dip” opportunity given a strong balance sheet, high institutional ownership and the company’s platform positioning in cybersecurity. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Palo Alto announced an offer to purchase CyberArk convertible notes as part of closing the CyberArk acquisition—a financing/cleanup step that facilitates the deal but also highlights the scale of transaction activity. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto is buying Koi to bolster AI/agentic endpoint security—adds product capabilities that could drive medium‑term ARR expansion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets and flagged margin pressure from deal/integration costs—HSBC sharply cut its PT to $114, and multiple firms trimmed targets, fueling downward pressure on the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Company trimmed FY profit outlook citing higher integration and deal costs (CyberArk and other acquisitions); coverage highlights this as the main reason for the sell‑off. Read More. and Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity—traders bought ~174,264 put options (≈399% above average put volume), suggesting elevated hedging or bearish positioning into the post‑earnings period.
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term price action shows sizable intraday declines and commentary that the strong earnings were “priced in,” amplifying selling after guidance/profit warnings. Read More.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.