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

Key Points

• BTIG Research raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $333 from $268 and kept a buy rating, implying about 12% upside from the current share price.
• The company reported better-than-expected fiscal Q3 results, with EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, while sales rose 31.1% year over year.
• Palo Alto Networks also raised its FY2026 and Q4 guidance above Wall Street expectations, reflecting strong demand tied to AI-driven cybersecurity needs.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at BTIG Research from $268.00 to $333.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the network technology company's stock. BTIG Research's price target indicates a potential upside of 12.05% from the company's current price.

PANW has been the topic of several other research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $300.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.33.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.1%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $297.18 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $302.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $195.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.31. The stock has a market cap of $242.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 164.19, a P/E/G ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 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 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 94,760 shares of company stock worth $21,660,063. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks beat fiscal Q3 estimates, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, with sales up 31.1% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised FY2026 and Q4 guidance well above Wall Street forecasts, reinforcing confidence in accelerating demand and stronger profitability ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI-related security concerns are driving more customer engagement, with CEO Nikesh Arora saying meeting requests have surged as enterprises prepare for new AI risks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment also improved, with JPMorgan and Baird raising price targets to $300, which supports the view that the post-earnings rally may have more room if execution holds. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Palo Alto also completed its acquisition of Portkey, an AI gateway provider, which could strengthen its AI-security platform over time, though the near-term financial impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale by the chief accounting officer may create a small overhang, but it appears minor compared with the company’s strong operating results. Article Title

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.

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