Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares shot up 2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $230.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $216.82 and last traded at $216.54. 4,408,351 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 6,166,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.29.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.55.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.97, for a total transaction of $153,979.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,449,674.85. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,160,428. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 205,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $41,957,000 after purchasing an additional 41,392 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 9.2% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 39,893 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,164,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $144.84 billion, a PE ratio of 134.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $207.16 and its 200-day moving average is $196.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.