Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $253.00 to $320.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.68% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. New Street Research decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group set a $300.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.02.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $297.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 164.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $302.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.20 and a 200-day moving average of $184.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,760 shares of company stock valued at $21,660,063. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,859,000 after purchasing an additional 384,985 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $11,077,000 after purchasing an additional 15,091 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks delivered a solid earnings beat, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected on revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, with sales up 31.1% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management lifted FY2026 and Q4 guidance above Wall Street forecasts, signaling stronger demand and better profitability ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Nikesh Arora said AI-related security concerns are driving more customer meetings and broader enterprise interest in Palo Alto’s platform, which supports the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the results, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Needham, DA Davidson, Benchmark, BMO Capital, BTIG, Stephens, Loop Capital, and JPMorgan, reflecting improved confidence in PANW’s outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Capital raised its price target to $290 but kept a “hold” rating, which suggests some upside has already been priced in after the stock’s sharp rally. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A small insider sale by the chief accounting officer may add a bit of headline pressure, though it is modest relative to the company’s recent strength. Article Title

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.