Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.880-0.900 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.851. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.5 billion-$2.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.4 billion. Palo Alto Networks also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.750-3.850 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.5%

PANW stock opened at $176.17 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $210.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.35. The stock has a market cap of $117.47 billion, a PE ratio of 100.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Stephens cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 127.7% during the 2nd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 214 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $153,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 312.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 989 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is 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.