Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives $342.61 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, forty have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $362.6667.

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI security initiative expands growth opportunities. Palo Alto Networks launched the Frontier AI Critical Defense Program with technology partners to protect critical infrastructure from AI-driven exploits and vulnerabilities. The initiative could strengthen PANW’s position in the emerging AI-security market and support demand from government and enterprise customers. Palo Alto Networks Introduces Frontier AI Critical Defense Program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $425 from $340 and maintained an “overweight” rating, citing potential for continued appreciation. The higher target signals confidence in PANW’s growth prospects despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks Price Target Raised by Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI adoption may drive sales. Palo Alto Networks is positioning its network, identity, AI and security-operations products to benefit as businesses deploy more artificial intelligence. This could help PANW compete more effectively with CrowdStrike and Zscaler. Can Strong Enterprise AI Adoption Help PANW Challenge CrowdStrike and Zscaler?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage from TD Cowen and other outlets remains constructive on PANW’s long-term appreciation potential, but provides limited new operating information. TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity-sector selling is weighing on PANW. Palo Alto Networks declined even as the broader market improved, while CrowdStrike also sold off sharply. The synchronized weakness suggests investors are reducing exposure to cybersecurity stocks or taking profits, overshadowing bullish analyst commentary. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks Stock Declines

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $349.56 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $335.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $284.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 286.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,935 shares of company stock valued at $10,809,461 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $65,796,000 after purchasing an additional 53,485 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $104,774,000 after buying an additional 29,230 shares during the period. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $353,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,159,000. Finally, Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% in the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 4,659 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.