Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 4.8% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

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Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 4.8% on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $189.00 and last traded at $184.56. Approximately 13,609,344 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 115% from the average daily volume of 6,315,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.17.

The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company 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 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. UBS Group set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $123.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.46, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $191.59 and a 200 day moving average of $186.35.

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.

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