Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Issues Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.960-0.980 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.530. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.3 billion-$3.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.3 billion. Palo Alto Networks also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.770-3.790 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $297.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $242.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 164.19, a P/E/G ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $302.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $195.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 94,760 shares of company stock worth $21,660,063 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks beat fiscal Q3 estimates, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, with sales up 31.1% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised FY2026 and Q4 guidance well above Wall Street forecasts, reinforcing confidence in accelerating demand and stronger profitability ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI-related security concerns are driving more customer engagement, with CEO Nikesh Arora saying meeting requests have surged as enterprises prepare for new AI risks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment also improved, with JPMorgan and Baird raising price targets to $300, which supports the view that the post-earnings rally may have more room if execution holds. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Palo Alto also completed its acquisition of Portkey, an AI gateway provider, which could strengthen its AI-security platform over time, though the near-term financial impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale by the chief accounting officer may create a small overhang, but it appears minor compared with the company’s strong operating results. Article Title

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in 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 valued at $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1,226.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 908,500 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $167,346,000 after purchasing an additional 840,000 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $750,875,000 after purchasing an additional 708,332 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.2% during the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 619,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,055,031,000 after purchasing an additional 505,924 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.