Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.800-3.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.930-0.950 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $1.10 on Wednesday, hitting $199.90. The stock had a trading volume of 6,490,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,131,737. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.25 and its 200-day moving average is $197.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Tigress Financial assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Twenty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.14.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total value of $23,081,119.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,008,788.94. The trade was a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,160,428 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. 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.