Equities Analysts Set Expectations for PANW Q1 Earnings

Key Points

• Northland Securities initiated Q1 2027 earnings estimates for Palo Alto Networks at $0.45 per share, with a Market Perform rating and a $302 price target. The firm also sees Q2 2027 EPS at $0.48.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.85 EPS versus the $0.79 consensus and $3 billion in revenue, above estimates. Revenue rose 31.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 37 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy rating. The stock’s average price target is $306.59, despite some recent insider selling.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) - Northland Securities issued their Q1 2027 earnings estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities analyst N. Chokshi anticipates that the network technology company will earn $0.45 per share for the quarter. Northland Securities has a "Market Perform" rating and a $302.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks' current full-year earnings is $2.15 per share. Northland Securities also issued estimates for Palo Alto Networks' Q2 2027 earnings at $0.48 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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.

PANW has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. FBN Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Capital One Financial increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $168.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.1%

PANW opened at $266.33 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $207.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $217.06 billion, a PE ratio of 218.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $302.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total transaction of $313,588.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. grew 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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