Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Up 1.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 1.1% to $336.98, although trading volume was 31% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 39 Buy ratings and 10 Holds; several firms raised their price targets to between $404 and $430, compared with a consensus target of $385.67.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.02 in EPS and $3.41 billion in revenue, up 34.5% year over year. However, insiders sold $11.15 million of stock during the last quarter, while institutional investors own 79.82% of shares.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $339.40 and last traded at $336.98. 5,900,281 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 8,547,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $333.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, August 31st. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1%

The company's fifty day moving average price is $350.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.64. The firm has a market cap of $274.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 660.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Key sold 7,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,635 shares of company stock worth $11,150,578. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $65,796,000 after purchasing an additional 53,485 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $104,774,000 after purchasing an additional 29,230 shares during the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $2,159,000. Finally, Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% in the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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