Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-four research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $211.6190.

A number of brokerages recently commented on PANW. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.3%

PANW opened at $148.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $121.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.28, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.60 and a 200-day moving average of $190.79.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current 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.