Daiwa Securities Group Has Lowered Expectations for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Daiwa Securities Group from $212.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Daiwa Securities Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.82% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on PANW. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.62.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $144.84 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.19 billion, a PE ratio of 80.02, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.11.

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. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 79,417 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $14,629,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Tempo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Thryve Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $362,000. KW Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. KW Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,429,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big drop in short interest — Short interest fell roughly 50.8% in February to ~22.8M shares (2.8% of float) and a short-interest ratio of ~1.3 days, reducing immediate short-squeeze risk and removing a pressure point on the shares. (no link)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus still generally constructive — PANW has received an average analyst rating around “Moderate Buy,” supporting a baseline of continued institutional interest. Palo Alto Networks Receives Average Rating of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Media pieces pitching the AI/security upside — Commentary argues PANW’s AI-security investments could drive a turnaround, but these are thematic narratives rather than new fundamental beats. PANW Is Down 19% But Its AI Security Bet May Change That
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive context vs. CrowdStrike — Coverage compares Palo Alto’s platform strategy to CrowdStrike’s M&A growth path; useful for positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Cybersecurity Showdown: CrowdStrike vs Palo Alto
• Neutral Sentiment: High-profile commentary — Jim Cramer discussed PANW on air, increasing retail visibility but not adding new company-guidance information. Jim Cramer Discusses Palo Alto Networks’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Daiwa cuts price target but keeps outperform rating — PT lowered from $212 to $175, signaling reduced near-term upside expectations from that shop while still endorsing the name. Daiwa Securities Adjusts PT on Palo Alto Networks to $175
• Negative Sentiment: Q3/organic growth commentary; EPS dilution concern — Analysis notes organic growth normalizing and that a Q3 EPS miss was driven by share dilution, which could pressure near-term EPS multiples if buybacks don’t offset dilution. Palo Alto Networks: Organic Growth Begins To Normalize

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.