Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.34 EPS

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The network technology company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.34), Zacks reports. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. Palo Alto Networks updated its FY 2025 guidance to 3.260-3.280 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance to 0.870-0.890 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $194.48. The stock had a trading volume of 8,808,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,587,954. The company has a market capitalization of $128.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.57, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $142.01 and a one year high of $208.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $177.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 321,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. This trade represents a 27.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks stock. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 169.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the quarter. Bison Wealth LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.