FY2026 EPS Forecast for Palo Alto Networks Lifted by Analyst

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson lifted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report released on Thursday, November 21st. DA Davidson analyst R. Kessinger now anticipates that the network technology company will post earnings per share of $4.27 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $3.44. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating and a $415.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $3.57 per share.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share.

PANW has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $390.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $383.36 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $260.09 and a 1 year high of $408.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $364.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $339.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.92, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Palo Alto Networks shares are going to split on the morning of Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.49, for a total value of $3,484,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,983,359.33. This represents a 24.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total transaction of $20,698,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This trade represents a 27.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,252 shares of company stock worth $89,041,637 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.