Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' stock rose by 1.2%, reaching a last traded price of $208.19, with a trading volume increase of 34% from its average.
• Research analysts generally hold a Moderate Buy consensus on the stock, with an average target price of $212.39 based on 29 buy ratings, 11 holds, and 2 sells.
• Institutional investors hold a significant stake, with 79.82% of the company's stock owned by large investors, including substantial new positions from firms like Nuveen LLC and Norges Bank.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $209.02 and last traded at $208.19. 8,582,968 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 34% from the average session volume of 6,408,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. New Street Research increased their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price 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. Twenty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.39.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $139.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $188.19 and its 200-day moving average is $186.35.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.20, for a total value of $128,940.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 37,723 shares in the company, valued at $6,948,576.60. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total transaction of $23,081,119.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,008,788.94. The trade was a 40.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 568,622 shares of company stock worth $106,468,778. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $810,047,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $675,865,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $633,068,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 18,802.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,410,290 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $411,292,000 after buying an additional 2,397,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,234,650,000 after buying an additional 2,134,735 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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