Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Cut to $200.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $230.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on PANW. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $248.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $236.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.11.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.1%

PANW opened at $163.50 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.21. The company has a market cap of $113.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,547,000 after buying an additional 7,301 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1,248.9% during the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 10,899 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 10,091 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,234,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $457,279,000 after acquiring an additional 163,718 shares during the period. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beats and solid growth — PANW posted $1.03 EPS and roughly $2.6B revenue (≈15% YoY), topping estimates and showing Next‑Generation Security ARR up ~33%, evidence of durable demand. Palo Alto Networks Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue outlook upgraded — management raised full‑year revenue guidance to about $11.28B–$11.31B, a meaningful lift vs. prior range, signaling top‑line confidence. Palo Alto Networks Lifts Revenue Outlook as Second-Quarter Profit Jumps
• Neutral Sentiment: Product and research initiatives aim to monetize AI security demand — launches like MSIAM 2.0 and a Unit 42 report highlight strategic focus on AI‑era threats, supportive longer‑term catalysts but not immediate earnings relief. Palo Alto Networks Introduces MSIAM 2.0
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity mixed — some price‑target trims (e.g., Mizuho) but buy/positive ratings remain; watch revisions for guidance sensitivity. Price Target Lowered by Mizuho
• Negative Sentiment: Profit and cost concerns weighed on shares — management flagged rising costs tied to recent deals and cut/trimmed annual profit expectations, which the market interpreted as margin pressure from acquisitions. Palo Alto Networks cuts annual profit forecast as deal costs bite, shares fall
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term profit/guidance reaction — despite raising FY revenue, the company’s quarterly profit guidance and messaging around margins disappointed some investors, contributing to after‑hours/early selling. Palo Alto Networks slumps 6% as third quarter profit guidance falls short
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition (Koi) raised execution and cost concerns — the announced Koi deal aims to expand AI endpoint capabilities but added short‑term integration/cost uncertainty that pressured sentiment. Palo Alto Networks Announces Intent to Acquire Koi

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.