Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $420.00

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target upped by DA Davidson from $345.00 to $420.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Palo Alto Networks from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $245.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. FBN Securities restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $370.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $333.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $350.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 653.46, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. The trade was a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 38,635 shares of company stock worth $11,150,578 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $65,796,000 after buying an additional 53,485 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $104,774,000 after acquiring an additional 29,230 shares in the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $353,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $2,159,000. Finally, Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% during the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 4,659 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: Technical and earnings support: A bullish hammer chart pattern suggests potential near-term support after the recent pullback. Rising earnings estimates and the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter beat—$1.02 in adjusted EPS versus $0.98 expected, with revenue up 34.5% to $3.41 billion—also support the possibility of a rebound. Palo Alto Could Find a Support Soon
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: DA Davidson raised its price target to $420, while Susquehanna and BTIG lifted targets to $415 and $404, respectively. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating, adding to a generally bullish Wall Street view. DA Davidson Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term AI opportunity: Analysts and commentary continue to highlight Palo Alto Networks’ expanding cybersecurity platform and products designed to protect enterprises from AI-related threats. The company’s strong growth profile has helped sustain investor interest despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks AI Cybersecurity Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector pressure is limiting momentum: Zscaler’s softer fiscal 2027 growth outlook overshadowed its earnings beat and weighed on cybersecurity peers. Palo Alto Networks has been more resilient than some competitors, but sector-wide concerns remain. Zscaler Growth Guidance Pressures Cybersecurity Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: AI acquisition: Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid about $500 million in cash and stock for Console, an AI help-desk automation startup. The deal could broaden its AI capabilities, although integration and valuation risks may limit its immediate stock impact. Palo Alto Networks Console Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and insider sale: PANW’s very high valuation leaves little room for disappointment, while Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul’s sale of 900 shares worth approximately $336,000 adds a minor cautionary signal. However, the sale reduced his holdings by only 1.23%, limiting its significance.

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.