Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 2.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was down 2.1% on Tuesday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $205.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as low as $160.08 and last traded at $163.50. Approximately 14,356,438 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 10,240,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.95.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PANW. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $236.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto announced intent to acquire Koi to secure the “agentic endpoint,” a strategic tuck-in to close AI/endpoint security gaps that could expand product stickiness and revenue opportunities. Palo Alto Networks Announces Intent to Acquire Koi
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto launched MSIAM 2.0 with an expanded breach-response guarantee and AI-driven SOC capabilities — product commercialization that could drive higher-dollar managed services and upsell. Palo Alto Networks Introduces MSIAM 2.0
• Positive Sentiment: Unit 42’s 2026 report highlights AI-driven attack acceleration and expanded attack surfaces — a market backdrop that supports sustained demand for Palo Alto’s platform and services. Unit 42 Report: AI and Attack Surface Complexity Fuel Majority of Breaches
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentators and some analysts remain bullish on cybersecurity as a beaten-down sector with upside potential, which supports interest in leaders like PANW. These Experts See Big Gains Ahead for a Set of Cybersecurity Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Palo Alto reports quarterly results after the close today — earnings and guidance will likely be the immediate volatility driver for the stock. 5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens
• Neutral Sentiment: Sell-side analysts have been updating models ahead of earnings (revisions noted), creating mixed signals rather than a clear consensus catalyst. Palo Alto Earnings Are Imminent; These Most Accurate Analysts Revise Forecasts Ahead Of Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho trimmed its PANW price target to $205 from $220 (still an Outperform), a downgrade in expectations that can pressure near-term sentiment despite the maintained rating. PANW Price Target Lowered by Mizuho
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG and other brokers have cut price targets (BTIG to $200 from $248) while keeping buy ratings — target cuts can sap momentum even if conviction remains. BTIG Stays Positive on Palo Alto Networks as Channel Checks Improve

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $181.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.28. The firm has a market cap of $113.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.