Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given “Market Outperform” Rating at Citizens Jmp

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Citizens Jmp in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 target price on the network technology company’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s target price suggests a potential upside of 66.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PANW. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.66.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 8.1%

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $13.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.32. The company had a trading volume of 5,479,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,148,942. The firm has a market cap of $104.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.51, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.06 and a 200-day moving average of $192.21. Palo Alto Networks has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. 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. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% in the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat consensus: Palo Alto reported $1.03 EPS and ~$2.59B revenue (both above estimates); Next‑Generation Security ARR grew ~33% YoY — evidence of solid demand and platform traction. PR Newswire — Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management lifted full‑year revenue range to about $11.28–11.31B and provided FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $3.65–3.70 (above Street consensus), signaling longer‑term top‑line momentum. WSJ — Revenue Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings with high price targets (e.g., Wedbush and Rosenblatt at $225; BTIG at $200), which supports a bullish medium‑term narrative among analysts. Benzinga — Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Some brokerages trimmed price targets (Mizuho, BMO, Needham lowered targets from ~$230 to ~$200–205) but mostly kept Buy/Outperform ratings — mixed signal: lower valuations but continued analyst conviction. The Fly — Price Target Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged higher integration and deal costs tied to recent acquisitions (including the large CyberArk deal), and trimmed annual profit expectations — this comment triggered an immediate sell‑off in after‑hours/premarket trading. Reuters — Deal Costs / Profit Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Shorter‑term guidance concerns: some headlines noted Q3 profit guidance disappointed expectations, prompting further downside pressure despite the quarter’s beats. CNBC — Q3 Guidance Reaction

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.