Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Given New $220.00 Price Target at New Street Research

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its target price decreased by analysts at New Street Research from $240.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. New Street Research’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 44.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Thirty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.54.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 6.8%

PANW stock opened at $152.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a PE ratio of 84.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $180.25 and its 200-day moving average is $191.93.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,587,100,000 after acquiring an additional 594,789 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,568,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065,776 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 540,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations — PANW reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, showing continued subscription/ARR momentum. Palo Alto Networks Q2 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised full-year revenue outlook (to about $11.3B) and Next?Gen Security ARR grew strongly, supporting the platformization thesis. Palo Alto Networks Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors note a durable balance sheet and long-term platform opportunity; some view the pullback as a buy-the-dip if integration costs normalize. MarketBeat coverage of PANW
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO defended the company’s strategy amid AI/software weakness — management is positioning PANW as differentiated, but investor scrutiny on execution and margins remains. Palo Alto shares sink 8%, CEO defends cybersecurity’s position as AI hits software stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed — while several firms reaffirmed buy ratings and high targets, many trimmed price targets in light of near-term profit pressure. MarketBeat analyst roundup
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged higher integration and deal-related costs that trimmed profit guidance, triggering the largest immediate selling pressure. Reuters: Palo Alto shares fall as deal costs pile up amid AI security push
• Negative Sentiment: Industry/coverage pieces call out that the recent M&A spree is weighing on near-term margins and profit outlook, increasing execution risk. Investopedia: Deals Are Dragging on Its Profit Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: The announced Koi acquisition (agentic endpoint security) and other buys are viewed as strategic but also raised investor concerns about further integration costs and dilution. Zacks: PANW to Buy Koi

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.