Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Wedbush from $225.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the network technology company’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 19.93% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PANW. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. HSBC cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.28.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of PANW opened at $250.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $204.13 billion, a PE ratio of 135.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $186.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.69. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $261.41.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,756 shares of company stock worth $5,076,355. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after purchasing an additional 594,789 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,603,473,000 after buying an additional 3,101,267 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after buying an additional 540,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $1,415,364,000. 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: Wells Fargo reiterated a Buy rating on Palo Alto Networks and kept a $285 price target, reinforcing the view that the stock still has upside after its recent rally. Wells Fargo Reiterates Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target on PANW from $250 to $320 and maintained an Outperform rating, a sign that analysts see more room for the stock to rise. Evercore Raises PT on Palo Alto Networks
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Palo Alto Networks as well positioned for the next cybersecurity growth cycle, with AI-related threats expected to drive more demand for security platforms like PANW. Palo Alto Is Positioning for the Next Security Supercycle
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention on PANW remains elevated, with Zacks noting the stock is trending among market participants, but the article did not provide a new catalyst. Trending Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) a Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity stocks, including PANW, came under pressure after Zscaler issued underwhelming guidance, creating short-term gloom across the group despite longer-term bullish sentiment. Palo Alto and CrowdStrike Stocks Fall on Cybersecurity Gloom
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks noted PANW recently slipped even as the broader market gained, showing some near-term weakness and profit-taking after its strong run. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains

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.