Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

02 Jan 2026, 17:48 by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report)’s share price dropped 2.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $177.23 and last traded at $179.37. Approximately 6,808,478 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 4,908,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. New Street Research increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.20.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.6%

The stock has a market cap of $125.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.53, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 381,222 shares of company stock valued at $78,762,727 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $675,865,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $633,068,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $340,883,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,290,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

(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.