Daiwa Securities Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target reduced by research analysts at Daiwa Securities Group from $212.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Daiwa Securities Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.10% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PANW. Mizuho set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.62.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of PANW opened at $145.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $177.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.61. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $143.30 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its stake in 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 during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the third quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. PTM Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the third quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% in the third quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.