Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 1.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' share price increased by 1.6% to $197.53, with trading volume dropping significantly to approximately 1,577,597 shares.
• Equities analysts have generally upgraded their ratings on the stock, with a consensus price target increase to around $211.68 and 28 analysts recommending a Buy rating.
• The company reported a 15.8% year-over-year revenue growth in its recent quarterly earnings and surpassed earnings estimates with $0.95 per share compared to the expected $0.89.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $197.66 and last traded at $197.53. Approximately 1,577,597 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 6,432,649 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.68.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.2%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $188.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.62. The stock has a market cap of $131.68 billion, a PE ratio of 122.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business'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. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,199,564.80. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total value of $23,081,119.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,008,788.94. The trade was a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 569,422 shares of company stock worth $106,629,618 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 21,819 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,465,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 38,792 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $7,938,000 after purchasing an additional 4,124 shares in the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,397,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,357,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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