Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Cut to $224.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $240.00 to $224.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Thirty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.68.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $152.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a PE ratio of 84.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $180.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.93. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after buying an additional 594,789 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,568,964,000 after buying an additional 2,065,776 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after buying an additional 540,756 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $1,415,364,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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)

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.