Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 2.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' shares fell by 2.4% to reach $203.25, with trading volume increasing by 6% compared to the average.
• Analysts have set new target prices for the stock, with Barclays and BMO Capital Markets increasing their targets to $215 and $225, respectively, and a consensus target price of $212.39.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.95, beating estimates and showing a revenue increase of 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) shares were down 2.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $202.25 and last traded at $203.25. Approximately 6,792,952 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 6,408,916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.39.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.4%

The stock has a market cap of $135.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.64, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $188.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.20, for a total value of $128,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 37,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,948,576.60. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total value of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,243,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $644,356,888.56. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 563,622 shares of company stock valued at $105,459,528 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% in the first quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 161,840 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $33,119,000 after purchasing an additional 9,766 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 137,663 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $23,491,000 after buying an additional 10,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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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