Argus Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target hoisted by Argus from $222.00 to $320.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports.

PANW has been the topic of several other reports. Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Northland Securities raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Capital One Financial upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $168.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $272.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $205.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.58. The company has a market capitalization of $221.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 222.99, a P/E/G ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% 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, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly constructive, with multiple firms raising price targets after earnings, including targets of $207 to $360 and several firms reiterating positive forecasts for PANW. HSBC adjusts price target on Palo Alto Networks
• Positive Sentiment: FBN Securities upgraded Palo Alto Networks from “outperform” to “strong-buy,” adding to the bullish analyst backdrop. FBN Securities upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles note that PANW’s strong AI security narrative and recent earnings beat have kept the long-term story intact, even as the stock has cooled after its sharp rally. Barron’s on Palo Alto Networks rally
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity peers, especially CrowdStrike, sold off after earnings, and that weakness spilled over to PANW as investors demanded clearer proof of AI monetization and more room for upside after the rally. CrowdStrike sinks, weighing on Palo Alto Networks
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary argues PANW’s stock has run too far too fast, suggesting valuation concerns and profit-taking are pressuring shares despite solid fundamentals. Seeking Alpha on Palo Alto Networks valuation

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.