Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $420.00 at DA Davidson

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at DA Davidson from $345.00 to $420.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the network technology company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $394.00 price objective (up from $387.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Arete Research boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 9.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $328.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $347.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.94. The stock has a market cap of $267.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 274.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $398.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 79,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,477,180. This represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 37,735 shares of company stock valued at $10,814,266 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Results and guidance exceeded expectations. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose approximately 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion, topping the $3.35 billion consensus, while adjusted EPS of $1.02 exceeded estimates of $0.98. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $14.1 billion-$14.2 billion also came in above the $13.8 billion consensus, and first-quarter guidance was ahead of expectations. Reuters earnings and acquisition article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and maintained bullish ratings. Susquehanna and Rosenblatt lifted their price targets to $415, BTIG raised its target to $404, and Needham and Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed buy or overweight ratings with $425 targets. Scotiabank previously raised its target to $430.
• Positive Sentiment: AI is strengthening the long-term cybersecurity opportunity. CEO Nikesh Arora said companies may need to modernize roughly $1 trillion of aging cybersecurity infrastructure to address AI-speed attacks, supporting a longer growth runway for PANW’s platform. The company also acquired Console, an AI-native platform intended to expand agentic security workflows. CNBC AI cybersecurity infrastructure article
• Neutral Sentiment: Post-earnings positioning is driving volatility. PANW had already rallied sharply ahead of the report, increasing the risk that investors would lock in gains even after a solid earnings release.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and market conditions are pressuring the stock. PANW trades at a very high earnings multiple, while a broader software selloff, rising Treasury yields, inflation concerns, and geopolitical risk have encouraged investors to reduce exposure to high-growth technology shares. Benzinga Palo Alto Networks market update

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.