Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $347.68 and last traded at $349.56. 4,666,602 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 8,684,847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $320.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Argus set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $245.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.67.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $284.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 286.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $334.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. The trade was a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,839 shares of company stock valued at $27,079,580. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.