DA Davidson Increases Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $345.00

Key Points

• DA Davidson raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190 to $345 and kept a buy rating, implying about 16% upside from the current price.
• Palo Alto Networks recently beat fiscal Q3 expectations, posting 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.
• The company also raised FY2026 and Q4 guidance above Wall Street estimates, while management said AI-related cybersecurity demand is driving stronger customer interest and engagement.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by investment analysts at DA Davidson from $190.00 to $345.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the network technology company's stock. DA Davidson's price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.09% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $268.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.53.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $297.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $242.50 billion, a PE ratio of 164.19, a PEG ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $195.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.31. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $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. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,760 shares of company stock valued at $21,660,063. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th 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, Luken Investment Analytics LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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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