Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $266.72 and last traded at $263.22. Approximately 6,474,196 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 9,601,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.52.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: New commentary suggests Prisma AIRS is seeing rapid customer adoption, with larger AI security deals helping expand Palo Alto Networks’ revenue opportunity. Is Prisma AIRS Becoming Palo Alto Networks’ Fastest Growth Engine?
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $2.11 from $2.10 and kept a $320 price target, signaling continued confidence in the company’s long-term earnings power.
• Neutral Sentiment: Northland Securities maintained a Market Perform rating and a $302 price target, while reiterating multiple forward EPS estimates, reflecting a wait-and-see stance rather than a strong directional call.
• Negative Sentiment: Northland trimmed its FY2026 EPS estimate to $1.97 from $2.07 and cut FY2027 EPS to $1.77 from $2.20, which may pressure sentiment around near- and medium-term profitability expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank also lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.02 from $2.14, suggesting some analyst concern about the pace of earnings growth in the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $268.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, FBN Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $214.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 215.75, a P/E/G ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $209.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.35. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $75,412,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in 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. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $136,859,000 after purchasing an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,077,000 after acquiring an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.