Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 1.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' stock price increased by 1.2%, trading between $209.30 and $209.90, with a notable decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.64, highlighting strong backing from thirty analysts.
• The company reported a 15.8% year-over-year revenue increase, with quarterly earnings beating estimates at $0.95 EPS compared to an expected $0.89 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $209.90 and last traded at $209.30. 4,808,306 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 6,373,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $206.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group set a $245.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, September 26th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.64.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.87. The company has a market capitalization of $140.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.40, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,314,430 shares of company stock valued at $259,210,094. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $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 acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.