JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $225.00 to $200.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 31.28% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PANW. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.54.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $152.35 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $180.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a PE ratio of 84.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after acquiring an additional 594,789 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,568,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065,776 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after purchasing an additional 540,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,415,364,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations — PANW reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, showing continued subscription/ARR momentum. Palo Alto Networks Q2 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised full-year revenue outlook (to about $11.3B) and Next‑Gen Security ARR grew strongly, supporting the platformization thesis. Palo Alto Networks Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors note a durable balance sheet and long-term platform opportunity; some view the pullback as a buy-the-dip if integration costs normalize. MarketBeat coverage of PANW
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO defended the company’s strategy amid AI/software weakness — management is positioning PANW as differentiated, but investor scrutiny on execution and margins remains. Palo Alto shares sink 8%, CEO defends cybersecurity’s position as AI hits software stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed — while several firms reaffirmed buy ratings and high targets, many trimmed price targets in light of near-term profit pressure. MarketBeat analyst roundup
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged higher integration and deal-related costs that trimmed profit guidance, triggering the largest immediate selling pressure. Reuters: Palo Alto shares fall as deal costs pile up amid AI security push
• Negative Sentiment: Industry/coverage pieces call out that the recent M&A spree is weighing on near-term margins and profit outlook, increasing execution risk. Investopedia: Deals Are Dragging on Its Profit Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: The announced Koi acquisition (agentic endpoint security) and other buys are viewed as strategic but also raised investor concerns about further integration costs and dilution. Zacks: PANW to Buy Koi

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.