Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) reached a new 52-week high, trading at $212.10, with strong trading volume of over 1 million shares.
• Analysts have given the stock an average rating of "Moderate Buy," with a target price of $214.64, indicating expectations for continued growth.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, with CEO Nikesh Arora selling over 846,000 shares, leading to a 75.48% decrease in his share ownership.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $212.10 and last traded at $208.52, with a volume of 1052227 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $209.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. New Street Research upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.64.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.8%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $190.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.04. The company has a market cap of $138.83 billion, a PE ratio of 129.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,315,130 shares of company stock worth $259,351,606 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.0% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,519 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 8,901 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. St. Clair Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 16,900 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,048,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,776 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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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