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

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised Palo Alto Networks’ price target to $425 from $340 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying 13.59% potential upside from the stock’s $374.14 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 41 analysts issuing Strong Buy or Buy ratings; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $355.11.
• Palo Alto Networks exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.85 in adjusted EPS versus $0.79 expected and $3 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. Insiders sold roughly $27.1 million of shares over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 79.82% of the company.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $340.00 to $425.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the network technology company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price points to a potential upside of 13.59% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Benchmark raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.11.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $374.14 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $398.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business's fifty day moving average price is $332.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.92 billion, a PE ratio of 306.67, a P/E/G ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. 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 research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total transaction of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. The trade was a 10.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,839 shares of company stock worth $27,079,580. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% in the second quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the first quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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