Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 9.3% – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares shot up 9.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $283.71 and last traded at $281.69. 14,700,007 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 55% from the average session volume of 9,484,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.77.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms lifted their price targets on Palo Alto Networks, including Morgan Stanley, Evercore, Wedbush, Benchmark, Wells Fargo, BTIG, and Mizuho, reinforcing expectations for continued growth and keeping sentiment constructive. Morgan Stanley raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to highlight Palo Alto Networks’ strong platform momentum and growing ARR, suggesting investors see room for further upside if upcoming earnings confirm the trend. ARR growth article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media are also debating whether the company’s AI security leadership is a durable competitive advantage or mostly a narrative, which adds uncertainty but does not appear to be the main driver today. AI security narrative article
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares, a move some investors may interpret cautiously, although he still retains a meaningful stake in the company. Insider sale article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious on near-term fundamentals, pointing to rising acquisition costs, share dilution, and a mixed outlook heading into Q3 earnings. Q3 earnings outlook article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.09.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $190.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 155.63, a PEG ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.77.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 93,660 shares of company stock valued at $21,346,475. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% during the third quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the third quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.