Wedbush Forecasts Lower Earnings for Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now anticipates that the network technology company will post earnings of $0.44 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.46. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks' current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Palo Alto Networks' Q3 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $196.40 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $187.46. 5,321,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,611,755. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.09 and a 200-day moving average of $185.18. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $142.01 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.61, 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 quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $18,252,574.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at $48,629,704.62. This represents a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.5% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,707 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 341,806 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $58,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 91.7% during the 1st quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 11,500 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 118.9% during the 1st quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 14,588 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 7,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.