Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Jefferies Financial Group

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $450.00 to $400.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a $430.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.12.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $322.24. 5,278,636 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,260,294. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $367.50 and its 200-day moving average is $277.20. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $432.33. The stock has a market cap of $263.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 631.86, a PEG ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total value of $10,769,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,110,900. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Key sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total transaction of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,300. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,610,748,000 after buying an additional 1,493,179 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,734,973,000 after buying an additional 205,123 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,142,895 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,235,254,000 after buying an additional 2,386,906 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,993,802,000 after acquiring an additional 706,003 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

These are some of the PANW news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc upgraded PANW to Overweight from Sector Weight and set a $380 price target. The firm expects next-generation security growth, stronger security spending, and demand for AI protection to outweigh concerns about the traditional firewall business. The upgrade helped lift shares in premarket trading. Palo Alto Networks stock rises as KeyBanc upgrades shares to Overweight
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its price target from $450 to $400 but maintained a Buy rating, leaving the analyst positive while signaling a more cautious valuation view. Jefferies analyst recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: PANW was also noted as a holding in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust. This is a visibility signal, but the article provides no new company-specific operating or financial catalyst. A Jim Cramer’s Trust Stock Is Using AI to Breaks the Defenses It Helps Protect

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.