Analysts Set Expectations for PANW FY2026 Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald raised their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a research report issued on Thursday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst J. Ruykhaver now expects that the network technology company will earn $2.21 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.17. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $182.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $125.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.37. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-3.900 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 0.930-0.950 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.97, for a total value of $153,979.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,505 shares in the company, valued at $10,449,674.85. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,215,130 shares of company stock worth $249,031,488. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% during the first quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.3% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 205,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $41,957,000 after acquiring an additional 41,392 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 39,893 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.