Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $200.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective cut by Needham & Company LLC from $230.00 to $200.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.68.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $152.35 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $180.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat estimates—EPS $1.03 and revenue roughly $2.59B; Next‑Gen Security ARR grew ~33% and RPO rose, supporting recurring revenue momentum. Palo Alto Networks Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised full‑year revenue outlook to about $11.28–11.31B, signaling continued top‑line strength from its platform strategy. Palo Alto Networks Lifts Revenue Outlook as Second‑Quarter Profit Jumps (WSJ)
• Positive Sentiment: Management is investing to secure the AI/agentic endpoint (Koi acquisition) and expand capabilities (CyberArk, Chronosphere), which could strengthen long‑term competitive positioning. Palo Alto Announces Intent to Acquire Koi (PRNewswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and firms are mixed—some reaffirmed outperform/buy ratings and cited long‑term upside while others trimmed price targets; overall street sentiment remains largely constructive but cautious. Jefferies: Palo Alto to emerge stronger despite M&A headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Management lowered near‑term profit guidance, citing higher integration and acquisition costs—this cut to the profit outlook is the primary driver of the share decline. Palo Alto shares fall as deal costs pile up (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokers trimmed price targets and adjusted models after the guidance update (Deutsche, Goldman, Scotiabank, Loop, Stifel, BMO, Needham, Susquehanna, etc.), adding selling pressure. Analyst price‑target adjustments (MarketScreener example)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector and AI‑software weakness amplified the move—CEO sought to defend the company’s differentiation, but market sentiment for high‑growth software names remains tenuous. Palo Alto shares sink as CEO defends strategy (CNBC)

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.