Research Analysts Set Expectations for PANW FY2026 Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Equities research analysts at Scotiabank raised their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Palo Alto Networks in a note issued to investors on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank analyst P. Colville now anticipates that the network technology company will post earnings per share of $2.14 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.09. Scotiabank has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share.

PANW has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Thirty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.51.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $148.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $121.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.15, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambient Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,711,000. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,260,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Hamilton Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 24,006 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto announced the planned acquisition of Koi, a startup focused on agentic endpoint security — a strategic move to plug AI-related security gaps and expand its AI/security platform footprint. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to Acquire Koi
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto filed an offer relating to CyberArk’s convertible notes tied to its CyberArk acquisition, signaling active balance-sheet management as it closes recent M&A. This helps reassure investors that integration and financing steps are being executed. Palo Alto Networks Announces Offer to Purchase Relating to CyberArk Software Ltd.’s Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarter showed revenue and EPS roughly in line-to-slightly-better-than expectations and management raised revenue guidance at the low end, supporting the case for durable topline growth driven by platform and subscription momentum. (Company releases and analyst coverage)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms reiterated Outperform/Buy ratings (e.g., Citizens JMP, Wedbush, RBC, Rosenblatt) — indicating pockets of institutional confidence even as some analysts trimmed estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of analyst downgrades and price-target cuts hit PANW, driving headline selling and raising near-term skepticism about margin recovery amid integration costs. See coverage of the downgrade-driven selloff. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 6.8% on Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target (and multiple banks including Goldman, HSBC, Mizuho, BMO and others issued more pessimistic forecasts or lowered targets), amplifying pressure on the stock’s near-term outlook. Susquehanna Lowers Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $200.00
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC notably cut its target to $114, highlighting the range of analyst views and contributing to sentiment-driven selling. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Palo Alto Networks to $114
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option buying and elevated volume/gap-down trading indicate traders are positioned for further near-term weakness; this increases volatility and can exacerbate downward moves until clarity on integration costs and margin recovery arrives.

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.