Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $255.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $220.00 to $255.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on PANW. Benchmark initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.98.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $242.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $198.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.16, a P/E/G ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.27. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $245.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business 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 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% 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: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

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.