Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 6.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shot up 6.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $279.95 and last traded at $279.53. 9,565,073 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 0% from the average session volume of 9,601,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.22.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive on Palo Alto Networks after its latest earnings beat, with the company topping EPS and revenue estimates and several analysts raising price targets, which can support the stock. Palo Alto Networks stock and earnings background
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on cybersecurity names and AI-related security demand may be lifting sentiment across the sector, including PANW. Cybersecurity Stocks To Keep An Eye On – June 10th
• Neutral Sentiment: One market article highlighted Palo Alto Networks alongside other “fresh catalysts” and cybersecurity names, but did not provide a company-specific development. 3 Stocks With Fresh Catalysts to Watch Before July 4
• Negative Sentiment: Director Aparna Bawa sold shares in multiple transactions over June 10-12, and Director John P. Key also sold a sizable block, which may weigh on sentiment because insider selling can signal limited near-term upside. Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Sells 377 Shares of Stock

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $268.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $255.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.0%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $216.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.20, a P/E/G ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total transaction of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares in the company, valued at $23,272,790.88. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 81,044 shares of company stock valued at $20,424,722 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 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.