Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 2.1% – What’s Next?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares dropped 2.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $212.35 and last traded at $214.52. Approximately 6,131,289 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 6,179,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $219.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PANW. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group set a $245.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, September 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.17.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.84. The firm has a market cap of $143.49 billion, a PE ratio of 133.66, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.92, for a total value of $25,594,426.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 149,190 shares in the company, valued at $31,616,344.80. This trade represents a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,094,356 shares of company stock worth $222,684,964. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 78,760 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $16,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 68.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 33,255 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,771,000 after buying an additional 13,521 shares in the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 3,743 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,222 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atala Financial Inc now owns 2,072 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.