Research Analysts Set Expectations for PANW Q1 Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) - Analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report issued on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp analyst E. Heath anticipates that the network technology company will post earnings per share of $0.53 for the quarter. KeyCorp currently has a "Overweight" rating and a $217.50 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks' current full-year earnings is $3.49 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Palo Alto Networks' Q2 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.47 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.62 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $207.50 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $188.22. 3,894,708 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,551,619. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $130.04 and a 12-month high of $207.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.99. The firm has a market cap of $123.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total value of $11,970,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,231,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.