Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Cut to $200.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $230.00 to $200.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PANW. TD Cowen increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Thirty-three investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.68.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 6.8%

PANW stock opened at $152.35 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.93.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,568,964,000 after buying an additional 2,065,776 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $340,883,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $502,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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: 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.