The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $224.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price reduced by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $240.00 to $224.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 48.33% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on PANW. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price target (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.66.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded down $12.49 on Wednesday, reaching $151.01. The company had a trading volume of 5,479,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,148,942. The firm has a market cap of $105.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.21. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after acquiring an additional 7,301 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,248.9% during the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 10,899 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after buying an additional 10,091 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,234,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $457,279,000 after buying an additional 163,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% during the second quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat consensus: Palo Alto reported $1.03 EPS and ~$2.59B revenue (both above estimates); Next‑Generation Security ARR grew ~33% YoY — evidence of solid demand and platform traction. PR Newswire — Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management lifted full‑year revenue range to about $11.28–11.31B and provided FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $3.65–3.70 (above Street consensus), signaling longer‑term top‑line momentum. WSJ — Revenue Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings with high price targets (e.g., Wedbush and Rosenblatt at $225; BTIG at $200), which supports a bullish medium‑term narrative among analysts. Benzinga — Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Some brokerages trimmed price targets (Mizuho, BMO, Needham lowered targets from ~$230 to ~$200–205) but mostly kept Buy/Outperform ratings — mixed signal: lower valuations but continued analyst conviction. The Fly — Price Target Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged higher integration and deal costs tied to recent acquisitions (including the large CyberArk deal), and trimmed annual profit expectations — this comment triggered an immediate sell‑off in after‑hours/premarket trading. Reuters — Deal Costs / Profit Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Shorter‑term guidance concerns: some headlines noted Q3 profit guidance disappointed expectations, prompting further downside pressure despite the quarter’s beats. CNBC — Q3 Guidance Reaction

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.