Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1.3% – Here’s Why

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s share price was up 1.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $331.08 and last traded at $330.30. Approximately 5,334,975 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 9,281,703 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group set a $300.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $180.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.96.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 6.8%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.93. The firm has a market cap of $287.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.25, a P/E/G ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 79,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,477,180. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $65,796,000 after buying an additional 53,485 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $104,774,000 after acquiring an additional 29,230 shares in the last quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 4,659 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.