Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) were down 1.5% during trading on Thursday after Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $225.00. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as low as $157.81 and last traded at $162.81. Approximately 19,615,860 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 95% from the average daily volume of 10,036,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.30.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PANW. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.74.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,878,351.95. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Closed the acquisition of CyberArk, adding a leading identity-security platform that broadens Palo Alto’s product set and cross-sell potential — a clear strategic boost for long-term revenue and AI-era security positioning. Palo Alto Networks Completes Acquisition of CyberArk to Secure the AI Era
• Positive Sentiment: Sector fundamentals remain supportive — MarketBeat highlights growing cybersecurity demand and an oversold ETF that includes PANW, which argues for medium/long‑term upside if the sector rebounds. Cybersecurity Demand Is High—Yet This ETF Is on Sale
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and trade commentary (Seeking Alpha) highlights PANW as a smart buy for long‑term growth investors, reinforcing the case that acquisition-driven product expansion supports secular growth. Why Palo Alto Networks Is A Smart Buy For Long-Term Growth Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are focused on the upcoming Q2 results — Zacks summarizes key Wall Street estimates and metrics to watch, which could drive short‑term volatility at the quarter print. Ahead of Palo Alto (PANW) Q2 Earnings: Get Ready With Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: News that PANW plans a dual listing on the Tel‑Aviv Stock Exchange after the CyberArk deal contributed to intraday selling, suggesting investors reacted to execution/structural concerns post‑acquisition. Cybersecurity Stock in the Spotlight Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports PANW chose not to publicly attribute a global cyberespionage campaign to China out of fear of retaliation, a disclosure that raises governance/reputational and geopolitical risk concerns for customers and governments. Exclusive: Palo Alto chose not to tie China to hacking campaign for fear of retaliation from Beijing, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets (Rosenblatt 250→225, BTIG 248→200, DA Davidson 240→210). All maintained “buy” ratings, but the cuts reduce implied upside and likely pressured shares in the near term. Rosenblatt Securities adjusts Palo Alto Networks PT to 225 from 250; maintains buy rating PANW Price Target lowered by BTIG DA Davidson adjusts Palo Alto Networks PT to 210 from 240; maintains buy rating

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $340,883,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $502,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $430,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,145 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.56 and a 200 day moving average of $192.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.48 billion, a PE ratio of 103.04, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.