Wedbush Decreases Earnings Estimates for Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Equities researchers at Wedbush cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now forecasts that the network technology company will earn $0.44 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.46. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $1.76 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Palo Alto Networks’ Q3 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.40.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $187.46 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $142.01 and a 12 month high of $208.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.16 and a 200 day moving average of $185.20. The firm has a market cap of $125.00 billion, a PE ratio of 105.61, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grassi Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 7,910 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,880 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares in the company, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 293,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,458,002.70. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock worth $96,933,690 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.