Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares traded up 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $151.29 and last traded at $149.40. 12,022,943 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 11,980,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.62.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.1%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.11. The stock has a market cap of $121.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.54, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. 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 company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 340,085 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $62,814,000 after buying an additional 8,659 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 79,417 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $14,629,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. Tempo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $486,000. Thryve Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $362,000. Finally, KW Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. KW Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.