Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 4.8% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 4.8% during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $189.00 and last traded at $184.56. Approximately 13,609,344 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 115% from the average daily volume of 6,315,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.17.

The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group set a $185.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,080. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total value of $122,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,452,332. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,874,000. Marex Group plc bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $395,000. State of Wyoming raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 79.1% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 641 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,334 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.32. The stock has a market cap of $121.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.