Wedbush Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $225.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock. Wedbush’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 49.02% from the company’s current price.

PANW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Thirty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.51.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $150.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $179.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.65. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,248.9% in the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 10,899 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 10,091 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,234,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $457,279,000 after buying an additional 163,718 shares during the period. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% during the 2nd quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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.