Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading 3.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose 3.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $151.29 and last traded at $149.40. Approximately 12,022,943 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 0% from the average daily volume of 11,980,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.62.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $121.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $176.09 and its 200-day moving average is $191.11.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% in the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.