Research Analysts Set Expectations for PANW FY2025 Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report issued on Monday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst now expects that the network technology company will post earnings of $1.77 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.75. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $223.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $181.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $120.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $178.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.29.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Grassi Investment Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 7,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,258 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 103.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 104.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 512 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.