Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' shares fell 1.2% on Thursday, closing at $215.17, with a significant decline in trading volume compared to the average session.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for Palo Alto Networks, with price targets now ranging from $225.00 to $245.00, reflecting a positive outlook from the majority.
• Insider transactions showed notable selling activity, with key executives selling significant amounts of stock, which could signal caution to investors despite strong quarterly earnings.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) fell 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $214.19 and last traded at $215.17. 4,410,885 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 6,343,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $217.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, September 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.95.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $143.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $192.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.92, for a total transaction of $25,594,426.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 149,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,616,344.80. This represents a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $141,512.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 32,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,564,943.84. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock worth $260,687,367 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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