Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy", while the stock's consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average analyst target of $210.19.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly expectations with $1.03 EPS vs. $0.94 estimate and $2.59B revenue (up 14.9% YoY), and issued FY2026 guidance of $3.65–3.70 EPS and Q3 guidance of $0.78–0.80.
• The shares opened at $156.09 (market cap ~$127.4B, PE ~86.2) and saw notable insider selling—139,068 shares (~$26.6M) last quarter—while institutional investors own about 79.8% of the stock.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $156.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.37 billion, a PE ratio of 86.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.58. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 139,068 shares of company stock valued at $26,600,684 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.

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