Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 3.800-3.900 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 3.130. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.5 billion-$10.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.5 billion. Palo Alto Networks also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.930-0.950 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PANW. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.14.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $199.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,490,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,131,737. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.55, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.42.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-3.900 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 0.930-0.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.97, for a total transaction of $153,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,449,674.85. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,160,428. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the third quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Orion Investment Co raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the second quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 10,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% during the second quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 13,574 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.