Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03, RTT News reports. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks updated its FY 2025 guidance to 3.260-3.280 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance to 0.870-0.890 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $194.48. The stock had a trading volume of 9,202,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,720,367. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.67 and a 200 day moving average of $185.26. The company has a market cap of $128.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. The trade was a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Palo Alto Networks stock. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 169.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.