Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) was upgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PANW has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Northland Securities raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $156.09 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.58. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $127.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,068 shares of company stock valued at $26,600,684. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.