Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $433.00 Price Target at Arete Research

Key Points

• Arete Research sharply raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $185 to $433 while keeping a buy rating, implying about 42% upside from the current price.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q2 EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion, up 31.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with MarketBeat showing a Moderate Buy consensus and a consensus price target of $311.98, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Arete Research from $185.00 to $433.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the network technology company's stock. Arete Research's target price would suggest a potential upside of 42.34% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Capital One Financial boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $168.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Argus upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $222.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.98.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $304.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $247.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 249.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $306.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business's revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 106,389 shares of company stock valued at $27,570,630. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $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 buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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