Wedbush Decreases Earnings Estimates for Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Investment analysts at Wedbush decreased their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a report issued on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now forecasts that the network technology company will post earnings of $0.48 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.49. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $3.49 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Palo Alto Networks’ Q2 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.13 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $193.50 to $224.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. HSBC downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PANW opened at $189.36 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24. The company has a market cap of $124.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $191.89 and a 200 day moving average of $175.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,231,134 shares in the company, valued at $370,926,027.50. This represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,680,932.85. This represents a 11.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 571,172 shares of company stock valued at $107,074,352. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.