Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective lifted by Evercore ISI from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the network technology company’s stock.

PANW has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group set a $250.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. New Street Research raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, October 27th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Twenty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.52.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $205.25. 5,370,396 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,576,151. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $209.07 and its 200-day moving average is $197.06. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $140.39 billion, a PE ratio of 127.88, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.94, for a total value of $26,321,485.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 356,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,675,777.46. The trade was a 25.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,160,428 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $461,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at $277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.