Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyPalo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.6% on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $160.30 and last traded at $158.56. 9,524,973 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 11,736,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.09.
A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PANW. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Stephens raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.19.
View Our Latest Analysis on Palo Alto Networks
Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks
In other Palo Alto Networks news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,068 shares of company stock valued at $26,600,684. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of 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 worth $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares in the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $340,883,000. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $281,542,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.6%
The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.58. The company has a market cap of $129.38 billion, a PE ratio of 87.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.
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.