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

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 3.770-3.790 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 3.380. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.4 billion-$11.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.3 billion. Palo Alto Networks also updated its Q4 2026 guidance to 0.960-0.980 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $300.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $216.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.23.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $3.42 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $297.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,667,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,217,452. The firm has a market cap of $242.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 164.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.20 and a 200-day moving average of $184.31. Palo Alto Networks has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $302.95.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 94,760 shares of company stock valued at $21,660,063. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Palo Alto Networks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks beat analyst estimates with fiscal Q3 EPS of $0.85 versus $0.81 expected, and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion anticipated, which supports the stock’s move higher. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s latest results add credibility to the company’s position as a leading cybersecurity platform, with strong profitability metrics including a 12.96% net margin and 17.60% return on equity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several pre-earnings reports and analyst notes were bullish, including price-target hikes from JPMorgan and Baird to $300, signaling confidence that the stock can sustain its premium valuation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: News flow around AI-driven cybersecurity demand and Palo Alto’s acquisition of Portkey have reinforced the investment case that the company can benefit as enterprises spend more on securing AI infrastructure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary has highlighted cybersecurity as a strong theme into earnings, but this backdrop is more of a supportive industry trend than a direct company-specific catalyst. Article Title

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $80,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.