Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 5.5% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 5.5% to about $366 during Tuesday’s trading, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $298.6 billion.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.85 in adjusted EPS versus a $0.79 estimate and $3 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. Management provided fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.77–$3.79.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with a $332.57 average price target, although the stock’s valuation is elevated at about 300 times earnings and insiders have sold more than $27 million in shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) were up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $367.50 and last traded at $366.34. 8,076,416 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 8,968,474 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (up from $255.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.57.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 5.5%

The company has a market cap of $298.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 300.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock's fifty day moving average is $309.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.57.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $1,415,364,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,603,473,000 after buying an additional 3,101,267 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,665.1% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,761,909 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $442,788,000 after buying an additional 2,605,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 6,297,833 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,009,669,000 after buying an additional 2,528,299 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source