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

Key Points

• Wedbush raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $300 to $340 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 22% upside from the prior close.
• Multiple analysts turned more bullish after the company’s latest results, with several firms lifting targets and reiterating buy/outperform views; the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a beat on earnings and revenue for the quarter, with EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, while also raising FY2026 and Q4 guidance.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Wedbush from $300.00 to $340.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the network technology company's stock. Wedbush's price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.88% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $253.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.34.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 6.1%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $278.97 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $302.95. The company has a market cap of $227.64 billion, a PE ratio of 154.13, a P/E/G ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average is $195.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 94,760 shares of company stock valued at $21,660,063 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 594,789 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 3,101,267 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 540,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $1,415,364,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks delivered a solid earnings beat, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected on revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, with sales up 31.1% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management lifted FY2026 and Q4 guidance above Wall Street forecasts, signaling stronger demand and better profitability ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Nikesh Arora said AI-related security concerns are driving more customer meetings and broader enterprise interest in Palo Alto’s platform, which supports the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the results, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Needham, DA Davidson, Benchmark, BMO Capital, BTIG, Stephens, Loop Capital, and JPMorgan, reflecting improved confidence in PANW’s outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target to $290 but kept a “hold” rating, which suggests some upside has already been priced in after the stock’s sharp rally. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A small insider sale by the chief accounting officer may add a bit of headline pressure, though it is modest relative to the company’s recent strength. Article Title

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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