Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $144.15 and last traded at $145.3320, with a volume of 9399650 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $148.70.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big drop in short interest — Short interest fell roughly 50.8% in February to ~22.8M shares (2.8% of float) and a short-interest ratio of ~1.3 days, reducing immediate short-squeeze risk and removing a pressure point on the shares. (no link)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus still generally constructive — PANW has received an average analyst rating around “Moderate Buy,” supporting a baseline of continued institutional interest. Palo Alto Networks Receives Average Rating of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Media pieces pitching the AI/security upside — Commentary argues PANW’s AI-security investments could drive a turnaround, but these are thematic narratives rather than new fundamental beats. PANW Is Down 19% But Its AI Security Bet May Change That
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive context vs. CrowdStrike — Coverage compares Palo Alto’s platform strategy to CrowdStrike’s M&A growth path; useful for positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Cybersecurity Showdown: CrowdStrike vs Palo Alto
• Neutral Sentiment: High-profile commentary — Jim Cramer discussed PANW on air, increasing retail visibility but not adding new company-guidance information. Jim Cramer Discusses Palo Alto Networks’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Daiwa cuts price target but keeps outperform rating — PT lowered from $212 to $175, signaling reduced near-term upside expectations from that shop while still endorsing the name. Daiwa Securities Adjusts PT on Palo Alto Networks to $175
• Negative Sentiment: Q3/organic growth commentary; EPS dilution concern — Analysis notes organic growth normalizing and that a Q3 EPS miss was driven by share dilution, which could pressure near-term EPS multiples if buybacks don’t offset dilution. Palo Alto Networks: Organic Growth Begins To Normalize

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.62.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $118.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.02, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.11.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. 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. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,878,351.95. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.