Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) were up 1.3% on Friday after Capital One Financial upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Capital One Financial now has a $421.00 price target on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $368.80 and last traded at $358.68. 7,659,341 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 9,208,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $353.99.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at $42,058,590. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its position 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $290.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.30. The company has a market capitalization of $292.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 294.00, a PEG ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.