Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $434.00 to $475.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 31.18% from the stock’s current price.
Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $415.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. FBN Securities restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.73.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on PANW
Palo Alto Networks Price Performance
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks
In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,721.30. This represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,058,590. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 37,735 shares of company stock valued at $10,814,266 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
More Palo Alto Networks News
Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Results and guidance exceeded expectations. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose approximately 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion, topping the $3.35 billion consensus, while adjusted EPS of $1.02 exceeded estimates of $0.98. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $14.1 billion-$14.2 billion also came in above the $13.8 billion consensus, and first-quarter guidance was ahead of expectations. Reuters earnings and acquisition article
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and maintained bullish ratings. Susquehanna and Rosenblatt lifted their price targets to $415, BTIG raised its target to $404, and Needham and Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed buy or overweight ratings with $425 targets. Scotiabank previously raised its target to $430.
- Positive Sentiment: AI is strengthening the long-term cybersecurity opportunity. CEO Nikesh Arora said companies may need to modernize roughly $1 trillion of aging cybersecurity infrastructure to address AI-speed attacks, supporting a longer growth runway for PANW’s platform. The company also acquired Console, an AI-native platform intended to expand agentic security workflows. CNBC AI cybersecurity infrastructure article
- Neutral Sentiment: Post-earnings positioning is driving volatility. PANW had already rallied sharply ahead of the report, increasing the risk that investors would lock in gains even after a solid earnings release.
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation and market conditions are pressuring the stock. PANW trades at a very high earnings multiple, while a broader software selloff, rising Treasury yields, inflation concerns, and geopolitical risk have encouraged investors to reduce exposure to high-growth technology shares. Benzinga Palo Alto Networks market update
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.
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