Loop Capital Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $160.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price lowered by Loop Capital from $190.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the network technology company’s stock.

PANW has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Thirty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.51.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.5%

PANW stock opened at $148.70 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The company has a market cap of $121.34 billion, a PE ratio of 82.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.49.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto announced the planned acquisition of Koi, a startup focused on agentic endpoint security — a strategic move to plug AI-related security gaps and expand its AI/security platform footprint. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to Acquire Koi
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto filed an offer relating to CyberArk’s convertible notes tied to its CyberArk acquisition, signaling active balance-sheet management as it closes recent M&A. This helps reassure investors that integration and financing steps are being executed. Palo Alto Networks Announces Offer to Purchase Relating to CyberArk Software Ltd.’s Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarter showed revenue and EPS roughly in line-to-slightly-better-than expectations and management raised revenue guidance at the low end, supporting the case for durable topline growth driven by platform and subscription momentum. (Company releases and analyst coverage)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms reiterated Outperform/Buy ratings (e.g., Citizens JMP, Wedbush, RBC, Rosenblatt) — indicating pockets of institutional confidence even as some analysts trimmed estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of analyst downgrades and price-target cuts hit PANW, driving headline selling and raising near-term skepticism about margin recovery amid integration costs. See coverage of the downgrade-driven selloff. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 6.8% on Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target (and multiple banks including Goldman, HSBC, Mizuho, BMO and others issued more pessimistic forecasts or lowered targets), amplifying pressure on the stock’s near-term outlook. Susquehanna Lowers Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $200.00
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC notably cut its target to $114, highlighting the range of analyst views and contributing to sentiment-driven selling. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Palo Alto Networks to $114
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option buying and elevated volume/gap-down trading indicate traders are positioned for further near-term weakness; this increases volatility and can exacerbate downward moves until clarity on integration costs and margin recovery arrives.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.