Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $214.9773.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $242.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $174.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.27. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $245.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,587,100,000 after acquiring an additional 594,789 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,568,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065,776 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,934,935,000 after acquiring an additional 540,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.