Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HSBC Analyst Says

Key Points

• HSBC sharply raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $114 to $207, though that still implies downside from the recent share price. The move came alongside a generally bullish Wall Street backdrop for the stock.
• Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $0.85 EPS on $3 billion in revenue, and lifted its full-year and Q4 guidance. Revenue rose 31.1% year over year, reinforcing optimism around AI-driven cybersecurity demand.
• Multiple analysts also boosted their targets and ratings, with several price objectives now ranging as high as $375 and the consensus view remaining “Moderate Buy.” Institutional ownership remains high at 79.82%, while insiders have shown mixed activity with both buys and sells.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at HSBC from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. HSBC's price target suggests a potential downside of 26.18% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up from $255.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.29.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $280.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $228.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 229.86, a P/E/G ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $200.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.46. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.05. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 94,760 shares of company stock worth $21,660,063 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after acquiring an additional 594,789 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,603,473,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101,267 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,934,935,000 after acquiring an additional 540,756 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $1,415,364,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks beat fiscal Q3 estimates and raised full-year and Q4 guidance, reinforcing the view that AI-related security demand is accelerating. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dozens of brokerages lifted price targets and several reiterated bullish ratings, with new targets now ranging as high as $375, signaling Wall Street confidence in PANW’s outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said customer engagement is surging as companies prepare for AI-related threats, which supports the case for sustained cybersecurity spending. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: FBN Securities upgraded PANW to strong-buy, and multiple firms including Citigroup, Wedbush, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho, Oppenheimer and RBC raised targets after the earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Barron’s said the stock’s post-earnings rally has paused, but noted PANW remains up sharply since being highlighted as a pick, suggesting the long-term thesis is still intact. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One insider sale by the chief accounting officer created a small overhang, though it was modest relative to PANW’s recent rally. Article Title

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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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