Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 4.2% – Here’s What Happened

09 Feb 2026, 21:13 by Scott Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report)’s stock price shot up 4.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $166.75 and last traded at $166.00. 20,888,163 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 178% from the average session volume of 7,516,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Evercore raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.32.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 4.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.44. The firm has a market cap of $115.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.06, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 588,541 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $108,409,000 after purchasing an additional 16,775 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 6,441 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Waystone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $261,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,934,935,000 after acquiring an additional 540,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 27,356 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.