Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has received an average analyst recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 41 analysts, with 28 issuing buy ratings and 2 rated as sell.
• The company reported earnings of $0.95 EPS for the most recent quarter, surpassing expectations and achieving a 15.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Significant insider trading was noted, with EVP Nir Zuk selling 100,000 shares for approximately $19.87 million, reducing his ownership by 2.99%.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $211.5231.

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group set a $185.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total transaction of $19,866,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,243,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $644,356,888.56. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 569,422 shares of company stock valued at $107,116,337. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $190.52 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $189.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.92. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $210.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.04 billion, a PE ratio of 118.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.

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