Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' stock price increased by 1.3%, closing at $205.68 after trading as high as $207.03.
• Wells Fargo raised its price target for the company from $225.00 to $235.00, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts with a target price of $212.39.
• The company reported earnings of $0.95 per share, exceeding expectations and indicating a 15.8% revenue growth year-over-year, with guidance for FY 2026 set at 3.750-3.850 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $207.03 and last traded at $205.68. Approximately 5,213,120 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 6,396,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.39.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $139.26 billion, a PE ratio of 129.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $188.60 and its 200 day moving average is $186.52.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The company 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%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total transaction of $19,866,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares in the company, valued at $644,356,888.56. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 177,954 shares in the company, valued at $34,008,788.94. This represents a 40.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 568,622 shares of company stock valued at $106,468,778. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.