Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Guggenheim in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on PANW. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.17.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded down $9.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $154.23. 10,671,947 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,320,713. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.06 and a 200-day moving average of $192.21. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.50 billion, a PE ratio of 97.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% 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, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat consensus: Palo Alto reported $1.03 EPS and ~$2.59B revenue (both above estimates); Next‑Generation Security ARR grew ~33% YoY — evidence of solid demand and platform traction. PR Newswire — Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management lifted full‑year revenue range to about $11.28–11.31B and provided FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $3.65–3.70 (above Street consensus), signaling longer‑term top‑line momentum. WSJ — Revenue Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings with high price targets (e.g., Wedbush and Rosenblatt at $225; BTIG at $200), which supports a bullish medium‑term narrative among analysts. Benzinga — Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Some brokerages trimmed price targets (Mizuho, BMO, Needham lowered targets from ~$230 to ~$200–205) but mostly kept Buy/Outperform ratings — mixed signal: lower valuations but continued analyst conviction. The Fly — Price Target Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged higher integration and deal costs tied to recent acquisitions (including the large CyberArk deal), and trimmed annual profit expectations — this comment triggered an immediate sell‑off in after‑hours/premarket trading. Reuters — Deal Costs / Profit Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Shorter‑term guidance concerns: some headlines noted Q3 profit guidance disappointed expectations, prompting further downside pressure despite the quarter’s beats. CNBC — Q3 Guidance Reaction

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.