Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 3.9% – Here’s Why

30 Oct 2026, 21:23 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) fell 3.9% on Friday. The company traded as low as $359.76 and last traded at $365.87. Approximately 7,462,566 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 8,070,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $380.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $475.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $430.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.55.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $299.56 billion, a PE ratio of 717.41, a P/E/G ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $371.82 and a 200 day moving average of $269.01.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business’s revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total transaction of $373,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,031,317.57. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total value of $10,769,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,750 shares in the company, valued at $46,110,900. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,610,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493,179 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,734,973,000 after purchasing an additional 205,123 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,993,802,000 after purchasing an additional 706,003 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $1,968,304,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) is a global cybersecurity company that helps organizations protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, and digital infrastructure. Its offerings are designed to prevent cyberattacks, identify security risks, monitor activity, and support incident response across enterprise, government, and service-provider environments.