Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $151.29 and last traded at $149.40. Approximately 12,022,943 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 0% from the average daily volume of 11,980,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. New Street Research lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.62.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 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.