Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 4% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price was up 4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Arete Research upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a buy rating. Arete Research now has a $185.00 price target on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $156.83 and last traded at $156.09. Approximately 10,256,072 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 11,782,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.15.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.19.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 139,068 shares of company stock worth $26,600,684 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 4.0%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $173.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.58. The company has a market cap of $127.37 billion, a PE ratio of 86.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.