Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Down 6.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price dropped 6.8% during trading on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $185.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Palo Alto Networks traded as low as $147.15 and last traded at $152.35. Approximately 26,707,249 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 146% from the average daily volume of 10,877,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.50.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Northland Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Thirty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations — PANW reported $1.03 EPS and roughly $2.59B revenue, with Next‑Gen Security ARR up ~33% and raised full‑year revenue to ~ $11.28–11.31B, supporting longer‑term growth. Palo Alto Networks Q2 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company presentation and press release highlight 15% revenue growth Y/Y, strong subscription momentum and a growing RPO backlog that could sustain future revenue. Palo Alto Networks Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Product and research announcements (MSIAM 2.0, Unit 42 report) reinforce PANW’s market positioning in AI/agentic endpoint security but are longer‑term drivers rather than immediate catalysts. Palo Alto Networks Introduces MSIAM 2.0
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts (Jefferies, others) describe the quarter as a buy‑the‑dip opportunity, noting platform strength but acknowledging near‑term M&A headwinds. Palo Alto to emerge stronger despite M&A headwinds, Jefferies analysts say
• Negative Sentiment: Management lowered profit guidance for the current period and flagged higher integration costs tied to recent deals (CyberArk, Chronosphere, Koi), prompting sharp selling. Palo Alto shares fall as deal costs pile up amid AI security push
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares plunged in pre‑market/after‑hours trading and coverage changes followed — multiple firms trimmed price targets and the stock saw heavy volume. Palo Alto Networks’ Deals Are Dragging on Its Profit Outlook. The Stock Is Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage notes and headlines emphasize “dismal guidance” and CEO defense of strategy as software/AI sentiment pressures the sector, amplifying the sell‑off. Palo Alto shares sink 8%, CEO defends cybersecurity’s position as AI hits software stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Real‑time coverage explains the stock drop and investor concern over earnings guidance vs. expectations. Why Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Is Really Down 6.5% This Morning

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the third quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% in the third quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. PTM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% during the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 6.8%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.21. The stock has a market cap of $106.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.42, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.