Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $320.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $253.00 to $320.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PANW. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up from $255.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.22.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $280.43 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $302.95. The company has a market capitalization of $228.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $200.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.46.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.05. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,760 shares of company stock worth $21,660,063. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,859,000 after buying an additional 384,985 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,926,000 after buying an additional 3,926 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,077,000 after purchasing an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. 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: 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

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.