Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given “Market Outperform” Rating at Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp restated their market outperform rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 price objective on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.68.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $152.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $180.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.93. The stock has a market cap 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 has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $223.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Blue Sparrow LLC DE acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,583,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 174,226 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,093,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,322,135 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $427,740,000 after purchasing an additional 83,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.