Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on PANW. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 4.0%

PANW stock opened at $156.09 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.58. The firm has a market cap of $127.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,068 shares of company stock valued at $26,600,684. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $281,542,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $175,000. CFO Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $988,000. Clearwave Capital LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Wick Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.