HSBC Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $114.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price lowered by HSBC from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Thirty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.51.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5%

PANW opened at $148.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $121.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.15, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.65. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto announced the planned acquisition of Koi, a startup focused on agentic endpoint security — a strategic move to plug AI-related security gaps and expand its AI/security platform footprint. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to Acquire Koi
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto filed an offer relating to CyberArk’s convertible notes tied to its CyberArk acquisition, signaling active balance-sheet management as it closes recent M&A. This helps reassure investors that integration and financing steps are being executed. Palo Alto Networks Announces Offer to Purchase Relating to CyberArk Software Ltd.’s Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarter showed revenue and EPS roughly in line-to-slightly-better-than expectations and management raised revenue guidance at the low end, supporting the case for durable topline growth driven by platform and subscription momentum. (Company releases and analyst coverage)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms reiterated Outperform/Buy ratings (e.g., Citizens JMP, Wedbush, RBC, Rosenblatt) — indicating pockets of institutional confidence even as some analysts trimmed estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of analyst downgrades and price-target cuts hit PANW, driving headline selling and raising near-term skepticism about margin recovery amid integration costs. See coverage of the downgrade-driven selloff. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 6.8% on Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target (and multiple banks including Goldman, HSBC, Mizuho, BMO and others issued more pessimistic forecasts or lowered targets), amplifying pressure on the stock’s near-term outlook. Susquehanna Lowers Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $200.00
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC notably cut its target to $114, highlighting the range of analyst views and contributing to sentiment-driven selling. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Palo Alto Networks to $114
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option buying and elevated volume/gap-down trading indicate traders are positioned for further near-term weakness; this increases volatility and can exacerbate downward moves until clarity on integration costs and margin recovery arrives.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.