Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) Buy Rating Reiterated at Argus

Argus reissued their buy rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Argus currently has a $425.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. New Street Research set a $415.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $475.00 price objective (up from $420.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. FBN Securities reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $333.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $271.61 billion, a PE ratio of 653.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $350.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.82. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total transaction of $242,795.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh Paul sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.68, for a total transaction of $336,312.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 72,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,085,821.12. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 38,635 shares of company stock valued at $11,150,578 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Technical and earnings support: A bullish hammer chart pattern suggests potential near-term support after the recent pullback. Rising earnings estimates and the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter beat—$1.02 in adjusted EPS versus $0.98 expected, with revenue up 34.5% to $3.41 billion—also support the possibility of a rebound. Palo Alto Could Find a Support Soon
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: DA Davidson raised its price target to $420, while Susquehanna and BTIG lifted targets to $415 and $404, respectively. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating, adding to a generally bullish Wall Street view. DA Davidson Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term AI opportunity: Analysts and commentary continue to highlight Palo Alto Networks’ expanding cybersecurity platform and products designed to protect enterprises from AI-related threats. The company’s strong growth profile has helped sustain investor interest despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks AI Cybersecurity Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector pressure is limiting momentum: Zscaler’s softer fiscal 2027 growth outlook overshadowed its earnings beat and weighed on cybersecurity peers. Palo Alto Networks has been more resilient than some competitors, but sector-wide concerns remain. Zscaler Growth Guidance Pressures Cybersecurity Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: AI acquisition: Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid about $500 million in cash and stock for Console, an AI help-desk automation startup. The deal could broaden its AI capabilities, although integration and valuation risks may limit its immediate stock impact. Palo Alto Networks Console Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and insider sale: PANW’s very high valuation leaves little room for disappointment, while Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul’s sale of 900 shares worth approximately $336,000 adds a minor cautionary signal. However, the sale reduced his holdings by only 1.23%, limiting its significance.

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.