Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks' share price increased by 1.6%, reaching $206.80 during mid-day trading, despite a 14% decline in trading volume compared to the average.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $214.64 for Palo Alto Networks, with the majority of ratings being Buy from over thirty research firms.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.95 per share, surpassing expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 15.8%.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $207.19 and last traded at $206.80. Approximately 5,484,951 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 6,375,165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. UBS Group set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.64.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $138.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $189.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.74.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.58, for a total transaction of $20,722,402.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 206,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,468,674.44. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,314,430 shares of company stock worth $259,210,094 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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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