Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $304.2222.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $268.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,037,002.95. This represents a 21.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,760 shares of company stock valued at $21,660,063. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $136,859,000 after buying an additional 384,985 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,926,000 after buying an additional 3,926 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $277,828,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $11,077,000 after buying an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $280.43 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $302.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $200.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.46. The firm has a market cap of $228.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.86, a PEG ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks reported fiscal Q3 earnings and revenue above expectations, with EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79-$0.81 estimated and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, while sales rose 31.1% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised FY2026 and Q4 guidance well above Wall Street estimates, signaling stronger demand and improving profitability outlooks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Nikesh Arora said AI-related security concerns are driving a surge in customer engagement and meeting requests, reinforcing the long-term growth narrative for PANW. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup, Wedbush, BNP Paribas Exane, Stifel, Berenberg, Truist, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, RBC, Oppenheimer, and others raised price targets, with several also reiterating buy or outperform ratings, adding momentum to the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One insider filing showed CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares, which is minor versus the company’s overall market value but may slightly weigh on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, some coverage noted the stock slipped intraday as investors focused on acquisition-driven growth and broader market pressure rather than the strong fundamentals. Article Title

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.