Loop Capital Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Loop Capital from $190.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on PANW. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.66.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $12.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $151.01. The company had a trading volume of 5,479,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,148,942. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $181.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.21. Palo Alto Networks has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $105.26 billion, a PE ratio of 94.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

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.