Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 1.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $285.12 and last traded at $284.54. Approximately 7,249,080 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 9,556,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $222.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.90 billion, a PE ratio of 233.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $216.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.26.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,044 shares of company stock valued at $20,424,722. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.