Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 2.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report)’s share price traded up 2.5% during trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $235.00 to $285.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as high as $253.10 and last traded at $252.92. 6,310,291 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 9,526,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.66.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on PANW. Benchmark started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Berenberg Bank set a $215.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.33.

Get Palo Alto Networks alerts:

Read Our Latest Analysis on PANW

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $285 from $235 and kept an overweight rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus also boosted its target to $275 from $185 and maintained a buy rating, adding to the bullish analyst sentiment. American Banking News
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $270 from $200 and reiterated an outperform rating, reinforcing the view that PANW’s growth outlook remains strong. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: At Jefferies’ attended Ignite On Tour event, customers showed strong interest in PANW’s AI security products, including Portkey and Koi Security, while also appearing unfazed by recent firewall price increases. Proactive Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlighted growing demand for PANW’s AI security offerings such as Prisma AIRS and XSIAM as enterprises expand AI deployments, supporting the long-term growth narrative. Zacks

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% during the third quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the third quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $206.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.73, a P/E/G ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $179.63 and its 200 day moving average is $181.54.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

• Five stocks we like better than Palo Alto Networks
• Meta Platforms 10% Layoff Raises a Bigger Question About AI Spending
• As Small-Cap Outperformance Continues, These 2 ETFs Provide Exposure
• Silicon Shake-Up: The AI Trade Is Moving Beyond NVIDIA
• The Silver Lining of Last Week’s Hims & Hers Earnings Miss

Receive News & Ratings for Palo Alto Networks Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Palo Alto Networks and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.