FY2026 EPS Estimate for Palo Alto Networks Lifted by Analyst

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) - Investment analysts at DA Davidson upped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson analyst R. Kessinger now forecasts that the network technology company will post earnings of $2.11 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.10. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks' current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Stephens cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of PANW traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $188.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,015,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,597,726. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $208.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $16,541,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,132,981.56. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This trade represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $548,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 11,661 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,354 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,345,740 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $244,871,000 after buying an additional 606,778 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.