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In the latest trading session, Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed at $340.28, marking a -1.92% move from the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.28%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.02%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.02%.

The stock of security software maker has fallen by 6.67% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 2.28% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.67%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Palo Alto Networks in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.97, indicating a 4.3% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $3.31 billion, up 33.62% from the year-ago period.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $4.18 per share and revenue of $14.17 billion, indicating changes of +8.85% and +23.42%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Palo Alto Networks. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Right now, Palo Alto Networks possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Palo Alto Networks is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 83.03. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 49.76 for its industry.

We can additionally observe that PANW currently boasts a PEG ratio of 5.52. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Security industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.89.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 77, which puts it in the top 32% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

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Community Financial Services Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,860 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 2.6% of Community Financial Services Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $16,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Saxony Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $687,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.7% in the third quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,851 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.2% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 9,803 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,895,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total value of $10,769,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,110,900. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total value of $7,533,600.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance PANW stock opened at $370.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $302.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 726.03, a P/E/G ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $373.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.73. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $432.33. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. Research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In PANW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. New Street Research set a $415.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $393.02.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Profile (Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Palo Alto Networks ASML Can’t Keep Up With AI Demand—Why That’s a Good Thing Enovix’s 100,000-Battery Drone Order Sets Up a Test of Its Production Plans AMD’s Support Could Help Fermi Stock Overcome Its Biggest Hurdle Beyond the GPU: Credo Paves the Next AI Data Superhighway Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report).

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Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed at $375.04 in the latest trading session, marking a -5.54% move from the prior day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 1.11%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.09%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.88%.

Heading into today, shares of the security software maker had gained 5.85% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.49% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.06%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Palo Alto Networks in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.97, indicating a 4.3% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $3.31 billion, indicating a 33.62% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

PANW's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.18 per share and revenue of $14.17 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +8.85% and +23.43%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Palo Alto Networks currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Palo Alto Networks is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 95.02. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 57.68.

Also, we should mention that PANW has a PEG ratio of 6.31. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Security industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.2 as of yesterday's close.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 172, which puts it in the bottom 31% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,772 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.0% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $43,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,610,748,000 after buying an additional 1,493,179 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,734,973,000 after buying an additional 205,123 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,993,802,000 after buying an additional 706,003 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,466,118 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,036,648,000 after buying an additional 273,103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

PANW stock opened at $403.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $372.02 and a 200-day moving average of $295.90. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $432.33. The company has a market capitalization of $330.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 791.84, a PEG ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total value of $103,070.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,825,163.56. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total transaction of $10,769,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,110,900. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Palo Alto Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $253.00 to $351.00 in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $320.00 to $346.00 in a report on Monday, September 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $392.38.

Get Our Latest Report on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Profile (Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Palo Alto Networks Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed? OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit 3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Palo Alto Networks Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Palo Alto Networks and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

The recommendations of Wall Street analysts are often relied on by investors when deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock. Media reports about these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts changing their ratings often affect a stock's price. Do they really matter, though?

Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) .

Palo Alto currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.61, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 56 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.61 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.

Of the 56 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 38 are Strong Buy and three are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 67.9% and 5.4% of all recommendations.

Brokerage Recommendation Trends for PANW

Check price target & stock forecast for Palo Alto here>>>

While the ABR calls for buying Palo Alto, it may not be wise to make an investment decision solely based on this information. Several studies have shown limited to no success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors to pick stocks with the best price increase potential.

Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations.

In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement.

Zacks Rank, our proprietary stock rating tool with an impressive externally audited track record, categorizes stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and is an effective indicator of a stock's price performance in the near future. Therefore, using the ABR to validate the Zacks Rank could be an efficient way of making a profitable investment decision.

Zacks Rank Should Not Be Confused With ABRIn spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures.

Broker recommendations are the sole basis for calculating the ABR, which is typically displayed in decimals (such as 1.28). The Zacks Rank, on the other hand, is a quantitative model designed to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.

Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.

On the other hand, earnings estimate revisions are at the core of the Zacks Rank. And empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

In addition, the different Zacks Rank grades are applied proportionately to all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide current-year earnings estimates. In other words, this tool always maintains a balance among its five ranks.

There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices.

Is PANW a Good Investment?Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for Palo Alto, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has remained unchanged over the past month at $4.18.

Analysts' steady views regarding the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by an unchanged consensus estimate, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Palo Alto. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

It may therefore be prudent to be a little cautious with the Buy-equivalent ABR for Palo Alto.

There's a clear divide in AI-tied software names between downgrades in Microsoft (MSFT), Palantir (PLTR), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) while Salesforce (CRM) received a double upgrade. Sam Vadas discusses the factors BofA sees in taking the leap into the bull camp as other key software names struggle on the session.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $398.42, moving -1.76% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.47% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.25%.

The security software maker's shares have seen an increase of 21.03% over the last month, surpassing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.08% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.15%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Palo Alto Networks in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.97, indicating a 4.3% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $3.31 billion, showing a 33.62% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.18 per share and a revenue of $14.17 billion, indicating changes of +8.85% and +23.43%, respectively, from the former year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.64% higher. At present, Palo Alto Networks boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Palo Alto Networks is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 97.06. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 55.51, which means Palo Alto Networks is trading at a premium to the group.

It is also worth noting that PANW currently has a PEG ratio of 6.45. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Security industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.18 as of yesterday's close.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, putting it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

Palo Alto Networks turned a humble firewall appliance into a sprawling AI security platform, and investors who held through three brutal drawdowns since 2020 found out just how much patience can pay off. But at today's valuation, the next decade…

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

From Firewall Boxes to an AI Security Platform Ten years ago, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW | PANW Price Prediction) was mostly known for one product: the next-generation firewall, a hardware appliance that carried it to an IPO in July 2012.

The turn came after Nikesh Arora became CEO in June 2018. He pushed “platformization,” pulling network security, cloud security (Prisma) and security operations (Cortex) into integrated suites. Acquisitions fed the plan: CyberArk in identity security, Chronosphere in observability and Console in agentic AI. Subscription and support revenue now dominates, at $2.67B of $3.41B in fiscal Q4 2026.

Fiscal 2026 revenue reached $11.48B, up 24.5%, and next-generation security ARR (annual recurring revenue) hit $9.10B, up 63%. Arora said AI is “elevating cybersecurity to the top of the CIO priority list.”

Your $1,000 Became Roughly $15,700 Palo Alto pays no dividend, so these figures come entirely from share price gains. Also, they are adjusted for the 3-for-1 split in 2022 and 2-for-1 split in 2024.

1-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000 Current Value: $2,016.70 Total Return: 101.67% S&P 500 (same period): $1,166.60 (16.66%) 5-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000 Current Value: $5,157.10 Total Return: 415.71% Annualized Return: 38.83% S&P 500 (same period): $1,795.10 (79.51%) 10-Year Return

Initial Investment: $1,000 Current Value: $15,676.80 Total Return: 1,467.68% Annualized Return: 31.68% S&P 500 (same period): $3,630.30 (263.03%) Palo Alto beat the index over all three periods, but holding it was rough. Shares fell 30% from January to March 2020, 33% from March to December 2022, and 23% between November 2024 and February 2026, when they reached $139.57.

The stock opened 2026 at $184.20 and is up 126.84% year to date. The biggest jump followed the June report, in which the acquisitions contributed $388M. Investors who sold during February’s low missed that run (we studied a lot of these ignored winners and pulled out the pattern in a free report here).

What Has to Go Right From Here The bull case rests on platformization turning into durable ARR growth and management reaching its $20B NGS ARR target by FY30 and 40% FCF margin by FY28. A $21.2B backlog and FY27 revenue guidance of $14.10B to $14.20B support that path.

The bear case plays out if the CyberArk, Chronosphere and Console integrations slip up, or if Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) pressure pricing. Shares trade at 1,084x trailing GAAP earnings, 94x forward earnings and 81x free cash flow. The price also stands above the consensus analyst target of $396.92.

Today’s setup differs from 2016. Back then, a firewall company priced at $26.65 split-adjusted had room to surprise. Today, a $341.8B platform carries 10 Strong Buy and 32 Buy ratings. The business is stronger, but the price assumes things go right. This stock has delivered a 20%-plus decline three times since 2020.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $416.70 and last traded at $422.22, with a volume of 100128 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $406.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $391.32.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 5.9% The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.28. The company has a market cap of $352.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 845.12, a PEG ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.93. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh Paul sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.70, for a total value of $158,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 77,987 shares in the company, valued at $30,859,455.90. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total value of $940,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,300. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 53,960 shares of company stock valued at $20,719,959 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% in the third quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 16,615 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,602,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% during the third quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,039 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $572,000. Miller Global Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 406.7% in the 3rd quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 456 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 688 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile (Get Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

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Park National Corp OH cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,591 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 28,006 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.7% of Park National Corp OH’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $63,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,833,462,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $1,968,304,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $1,569,755,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $1,481,236,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,603,473,000 after purchasing an additional 3,101,267 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total transaction of $10,769,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,110,900. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total transaction of $373,610.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,031,317.57. This trade represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,260 shares of company stock valued at $20,804,474. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $421.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $400.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $391.32. Read Our Latest Report on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.7% Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $2.81 on Monday, reaching $406.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,395,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,310,859. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 796.39, a P/E/G ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $362.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.61. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $409.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile (Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

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MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,880 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 5,091 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 1.0% of MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $37,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $572,000. Miller Global Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 406.7% during the 3rd quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 456 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 688 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,476,000. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,123 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,638,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total transaction of $7,533,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 260 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.69, for a total value of $102,099.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,677 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,611.13. This represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,260 shares of company stock valued at $20,804,474 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Arete Research upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. New Street Research set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $391.32. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance NASDAQ PANW opened at $403.24 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $409.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $362.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.61. The stock has a market cap of $329.85 billion, a PE ratio of 790.68, a PEG ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

(Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

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Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $403.24, moving +1.76% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.73%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.49%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.19%.

The security software maker's stock has climbed by 19.37% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.55%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Palo Alto Networks in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.97, up 4.3% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $3.31 billion, indicating a 33.62% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $4.18 per share and a revenue of $14.17 billion, demonstrating changes of +8.85% and +23.43%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 2.48% increase. Palo Alto Networks is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Palo Alto Networks is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 94.83. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 54.15, which means Palo Alto Networks is trading at a premium to the group.

Meanwhile, PANW's PEG ratio is currently 6.3. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Security was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.03 at yesterday's closing price.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 68, putting it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $399.95 and last traded at $399.1930, with a volume of 952607 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $388.41.

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

Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and AI-security demand support the rally. Recent coverage highlights Palo Alto Networks’ better-than-expected quarterly results, 34.5% year-over-year revenue growth and growing demand for AI-powered cybersecurity. Investors appear encouraged that AI is expanding cybersecurity budgets and could support future growth. Why Is Palo Alto PANW Up 21% Since Last Earnings Report? Positive Sentiment: An analyst upgrade and a favorable interest-rate backdrop have helped sentiment. PANW shares jumped following an analyst upgrade, while cooler inflation data eased concerns about additional Federal Reserve rate hikes. Lower-rate expectations generally benefit high-growth software and cybersecurity stocks by supporting their valuations. Palo Alto Networks Stock Jumps Following Analyst Upgrade Palo Alto Stock Rises on Cool Inflation, Easing Fed Fears Neutral Sentiment: Investor debate centers on whether to hold after the sharp advance. Commentary remains broadly bullish on Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike, but investors are weighing continued AI-driven growth against the possibility that much of the good news is already reflected in PANW’s price. All In On Cybersecurity: Palo Alto Networks or CrowdStrike Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cost concerns could encourage profit-taking. Analysts note PANW’s premium valuation and rising costs, while two insiders reported selling shares. These factors may limit near-term upside after the recent rally, despite the company’s longer-term growth prospects. PANW Stock Rises 21% in a Month Insider Aparna Bawa Sells Shares Insider Dipak Golechha Sells Shares Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Truist Financial set a $400.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research report on Monday, September 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $420.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.47.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Palo Alto Networks Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance The firm has a market capitalization of $324.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 776.98, a P/E/G ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $360.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The company’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total value of $10,769,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,110,900. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total transaction of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,760,300. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,260 shares of company stock valued at $20,804,474 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $405,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 20.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,822 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $35,405,000 after acquiring an additional 17,982 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,610,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 17.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 993 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile (Get Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

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Key Takeaways PANW added 220 net new platformizations in fiscal Q4 2026, more than doubling its volume in two years.Platformized customers delivered net revenue retention above 120%, reflecting expanding product adoption.PANW secured $126 million and $72 million deals, expanding adoption across multiple security platforms. Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) is seeing strong momentum in its platformization strategy, which enables customers to standardize multiple security products on a unified architecture rather than relying on several separate tools. The company says this approach brings security data and policies together across control points, helping customers simplify operations and respond to threats in real time. PANW is using this strategy across Network Security, Cortex and Idira, while also expanding into areas such as SASE, AI security and observability.

The strategy is gaining traction with customers. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, PANW added approximately 220 net new platformizations, more than twice the volume recorded when it began tracking the metric two years ago. The company also reported net revenue retention above 120% for its platformized customer cohort in the fourth quarter, indicating that customers are expanding their use of the platform.

Customer deals in the fourth quarter showed how Palo Alto Networks is using platformization to increase sales across products. A global telecom leader signed a $126 million agreement to expand its next-generation firewall footprint and replace legacy proxy providers with Prisma Access for SASE. A premier IT service provider signed a $72 million transaction covering Network Security, Cortex and Idira, with eight-figure investments in each. PANW also secured a $53 million deal with a leading global payments platform, which included a high-seven-figure commitment to Prisma AIRS as the customer expanded its enterprise AI initiatives.

The strategy is supporting growth across PANW's major platforms. Network and AI Security revenues grew 17% in fiscal 2026, while Cortex revenues rose 25% and Idira generated $1.26 billion in pro forma revenues, up 21%. PANW is targeting more than 4,000 platformizations by fiscal 2030 as part of its goal of reaching $20 billion in NGS ARR. The strong adoption of platformization and expansion across multiple security products provide a base for continued growth. As of now, PANW will need to maintain customer adoption and execute well across its expanding product portfolio to sustain this momentum.

How Competitors Fare Against PANWCompetitors like CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) and SentinelOne (S - Free Report) are also gaining ground through platform expansion and AI innovation.

CrowdStrike ended its second quarter of fiscal 2027 with $5.84 billion in ARR, reflecting 25% year-over-year growth. The robust increase was fueled by the growing adoption of CrowdStrike’s Falcon Flex subscription model.

Though comparatively a small competitor, SentinelOne posted second-quarter fiscal 2027 year-over-year growth of 22% in its ARR. The growth was fueled by the rising adoption of SentinelOne’s AI-first Singularity platform and Purple AI.

PANW’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Palo Alto Networks have jumped 115.1% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Security industry’s appreciation of 104.7%.

PANW’s YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Palo Alto Networks trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 22.36X compared with the industry’s average of 20.17X. The Zacks Value Score of F suggests that PANW stock is overvalued.

PANW Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 8.9% and 17.6%, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 have been revised up by 7 cents over the past 30 days. The same for fiscal 2028 has been revised down by 2 cents over the past 30 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Palo Alto Networks currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) . Shares have added about 21% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Palo Alto due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

PANW Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Platformization StrengthPalo Alto Networks delivered fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $1.02 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.1%. The figure improved 7.4% year over year.

Revenues climbed 34% year over year to $3.41 billion and topped the consensus estimate by 1.8%. Broad-based strength across Network & AI Security, Cortex and Idira, along with record platformization adoption, drove the fourth-quarter results. Next-Generation Security ARR jumped 63% to $9.10 billion.

PANW's Revenue Mix Shows Broad-Based GrowthProduct revenues increased 28.6% year over year to $738 million from $574 million in the year-ago quarter, accounting for 21.6% of total revenues. Subscription and support revenues rose 36.2% to $2.672 billion from $1.962 billion, which represented 78.4% of total revenues.

By platform, fourth-quarter revenues were $2.331 billion for Network & AI Security, $586 million for Cortex and $336 million for Idira. Other revenues, including Unit 42, professional services and financing income, totaled $157 million.

Palo Alto Networks' Platformization Hits Record LevelsRemaining performance obligations rose 34% year over year to $21.2 billion. Net new NGS ARR reached approximately $970 million, up 98% year over year, reflecting the strongest quarterly addition reported by the company.

Palo Alto Networks added roughly 220 net new platformizations in the quarter, up 44% year over year. Net revenue retention among platformized customers, excluding Identity and Observability, exceeded 120%, while more than 65% of NGS ARR came from platformized customers.

PANW's AI Security Products Gain ScalePrisma AIRS reached roughly $120 million in ARR within one year of general availability and had over 800 customers, more than doubling sequentially. Software firewall ARR grew 29% year over year, while SASE competitive displacements totaled about $450 million in fiscal 2026.

Cortex momentum also remained strong. XSIAM ARR exceeded $700 million and grew about 70% year over year, while observability ARR surpassed $500 million and increased more than 2.5 times from the second quarter. CyberArk, now called Idira, generated more than 200 new-logo wins from PANW's installed base.

Palo Alto Networks' Margins Reflect SaaS Mix ShiftNon-GAAP gross profit was $2.552 billion, with gross margin at 74.8%, down from 75.8% a year earlier. Management attributed the pressure to a mix shift toward faster-growing SaaS offerings that have not yet reached gross-margin maturity.

Non-GAAP operating income was $1.011 billion, translating to a 29.6% margin compared with 30.3% a year ago.

Adjusted free cash flow increased to $1.289 billion from $954 million, with margin edging up to 37.8% from 37.6%. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $2.514 billion, with $557 million in short-term investments.

PANW Guides Strong Growth for Fiscal 2027For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Palo Alto Networks expects revenues of $3.300-$3.310 billion, indicating 33-34% growth. NGS ARR is projected to be in the range of $9.54-$9.56 billion, RPO in the band of $20.8-$20.9 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share between 96 cents and 98 cents.

For fiscal 2027, revenues are forecast at $14.10-$14.20 billion, implying 23-24% growth. NGS ARR is expected to be in the range of $11.075-$11.175 billion, RPO in the band of $25.2-$25.4 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share between $4.16 and $4.19. The company targets a 29.5% non-GAAP operating margin and a 38.0% adjusted free cash flow margin.

Palo Alto Networks Maps Platform Growth AheadManagement expects fiscal 2027 Network & AI Security revenues to grow in the low double digits, Cortex revenues to rise about 30%, and Idira revenues to reach approximately $1.5 billion, implying pro forma growth in the high teens to 20%.

The company expects 60-61% of fiscal 2027 net new NGS ARR to arrive in the second half. Its outlook assumes the tail end of a large LLM customer's migration to Chronosphere continues through the first quarter, but contributes less net new ARR than it did in the fourth quarter.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.

The consensus estimate has shifted 7.78% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresCurrently, Palo Alto has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for value investors.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, Palo Alto has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry PlayerPalo Alto belongs to the Zacks Security industry. Another stock from the same industry, SentinelOne (S - Free Report) , has gained 20.7% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended July 2026.

SentinelOne reported revenues of $291.98 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +20.6%. EPS of $0.08 for the same period compares with $0.04 a year ago.

For the current quarter, SentinelOne is expected to post earnings of $0.09 per share, indicating a change of +28.6% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -3.2% over the last 30 days.

The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for SentinelOne. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of F.

Unit 42 combines multiple cyber models with human validation, code recommendations and recurring exposure testing. Summary

Palo Alto is trying to turn security consulting into repeatable subscription revenue.

Palo Alto Networks PANW, the cybersecurity-platform company, introduced Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense on September 22, with shares up approximately 2.4% to $397.74 at around 10:29 a.m. ET Wednesday. The service gives customers ongoing security testing through an annual subscription. The valuation leaves little room for disappointment: shares stand 70.08% above the $233.85 GF Value estimate.

The service brings together Anthropic's Claude Mythos 5, OpenAI's GPT-5.6-Cyber and open-weight models to hunt for weaknesses and test whether attackers could exploit them. Palo Alto says its system recommends prioritized fixes, code changes and virtual patches, while security specialists verify findings and attack paths. The pitch is straightforward: keep testing as customers' systems change, then turn discoveries into fixes.

For investors, annual subscriptions could make security consulting revenue more predictable. But recurring billing alone does not guarantee attractive margins. AI usage and specialist reviews still carry costs. Renewals, service profitability and the amount of remediation that can be automated will determine whether this becomes a scalable earnings engine. At this valuation, a compelling product needs to deliver compelling economics.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Click for the complete disclosure

Key Takeaways PANW secured multiple seven-figure bookings from sovereigns, neoclouds and frontier AI labs in fiscal 2026.Agentic traffic on PANW's SASE platform surged ninefold over the past nine months. Network & AI Security revenues grew 17% to $8.35 billion in FY26, while software firewall ARR rose 29%. Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) is seeing growing demand for network security as companies expand their artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Management expects the AI buildout to require significant new computing capacity, with sovereigns, neoclouds and frontier AI labs emerging as new buyers of security products. In fiscal 2026, Palo Alto Networks saw early traction from sovereigns, neoclouds and frontier AI labs, with multiple seven-figure bookings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. As AI deployments expand, the company expects the resulting increase in traffic and data to create more opportunities for its Network Security business.

The increase in AI-related activity is already affecting the amount of traffic that enterprises need to secure. Agentic traffic on PANW's SASE platform increased 9x over the past nine months as autonomous AI systems became more common. The company expects this trend to continue as AI agents are deployed across network and cloud environments, creating a larger volume of machine-generated traffic and new security requirements. This is important for PANW because securing this traffic requires continuous inspection and real-time protection, areas that are already part of its network and SASE offerings.

This demand is already reflected in the performance of the Network & AI Security business. Network & AI Security revenues increased 17% year over year to $8.35 billion in fiscal 2026. Within the platform, software firewall ARR increased 29% in the fourth quarter and hardware firewall demand remained strong, helped by the adoption of Gen 5 appliances. PANW also displaced legacy providers in nearly 100 accounts, representing more than $400 million in contract value.

PANW expects Network & AI Security revenues to grow at a low-double-digit rate in fiscal 2027. As AI infrastructure expands and enterprises move more AI workloads into production, the need to secure data centers, networks and growing volumes of traffic could provide a steady demand opportunity for PANW. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 and 2028 indicates revenue growth of around 23.4% and 15.1%, respectively.

How Competitors Fare Against PANWFortinet (FTNT - Free Report) is also benefiting from rising demand to secure AI infrastructure. In the second quarter of 2026, its SASE Firewall business grew 34% to more than $2 billion, while product revenues increased 52%. Fortinet said customers are upgrading network security as AI workloads increase traffic and data volumes. The company also highlighted an eight-figure win with a cloud provider to secure AI data centers, following a seven-figure deal with the same customer in the first quarter. These trends show how AI infrastructure growth is driving demand for higher-performance network security.

Zscaler (ZS - Free Report) is seeing similar demand as enterprises adopt AI applications and agents. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Security for AI bookings increased more than 50% sequentially. The company also closed a seven-figure deal with a Fortune 500 transportation customer to secure its full AI lifecycle and another seven-figure deal with a semiconductor manufacturer to secure AI endpoints, agent-to-agent communication and model usage. Zscaler's total ARR increased 25% year over year, supported by growing demand for its Zero Trust platform.

PANW’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Palo Alto Networks have rallied 112.4% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Security industry’s appreciation of 95%.

PANW’s YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Palo Alto Networks trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 22.09X compared with the industry’s average of 19.23X. The Zacks Value Score of F suggests that PANW stock is overvalued.

PANW Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 8.9% and 17.6%, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 have been revised up by 7 cents over the past 30 days. The same for fiscal 2028 has been revised down by 2 cents over the past 30 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Palo Alto Networks currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Runtime containment and continuous red teaming can meet, though integration economics remain undisclosed. Summary

Palo Alto can combine offensive testing with infrastructure-level containment.

Palo Alto Networks PANW, the enterprise cybersecurity company, joined Nvidia's NVDA AI agent safety initiative on Monday, September 28. Shares rose nearly 1.5% to $380.24 at approximately 10.31am ET time today. Nvidia named Palo Alto among more than 100 organizations working with the platform, which aims to keep AI agents within defined operating limits.

Palo Alto is already selling a different kind of AI defense. Its Unit 42 service uses models from Anthropic, OpenAI and others to probe customer systems for weaknesses on an annual subscription. Nvidia's OpenShell and Sentry focus on what agents can do while they run. Together, the two approaches point to a broader security opportunity, though the companies have announced no packaged integration or price.

The valuation leaves little room for a vague promise. The chart puts Palo Alto's $380.24 share price 62.73% above its $233.66 GF Value. Investors now need to see whether AI security demand produces customer adoption, renewals and stronger subscription margins.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Click for the complete disclosure

In the latest close session, Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) was down 3.89% at $374.74. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.51%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.93%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.48%.

Shares of the security software maker witnessed a gain of 1.85% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its gain of 6.54%, and outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.74%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Palo Alto Networks in its upcoming release. On that day, Palo Alto Networks is projected to report earnings of $0.97 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 4.3%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $3.31 billion, indicating a 33.62% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $4.18 per share and a revenue of $14.17 billion, signifying shifts of +8.85% and +23.43%, respectively, from the last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 2.72% higher. Palo Alto Networks is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at valuation, Palo Alto Networks is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 93.32. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 52.62 for its industry.

We can additionally observe that PANW currently boasts a PEG ratio of 6.2. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Security industry held an average PEG ratio of 3.16.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 55, positioning it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

Peter Andersen believes the AI trade offers headwinds, but also opportunities for companies across Wall Street. One corner of the market he sees with the biggest upside: cybersecurity.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares are hovering around the flatline Thursday morning as the cybersecurity leader consolidates gains following a Wednesday rally driven by the launch of its AI-powered offensive security platform.

Here’s what investors need to know.

Palo Alto Networks stock is under selling pressure. Why are PANW shares declining? Continuous AI Defense and Gated Capability ModelsThe stock’s mid-week upward momentum followed the company’s release of Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense, an agentic offensive security subscription service engineered around gated capability models, including Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6-Cyber.

Operating via a proprietary multi-model AI harness, the platform routes tasks to optimal model architectures to perpetually map attack paths, validate exploitability, and accelerate remediation across cloud infrastructure, APIs, source code and network assets.

The service transitions Unit 42’s earlier point-in-time exposure analysis, introduced in April 2026 and expanded in August 2026, into an always-on subscription framework.

Validation Data and Machine-Speed DefensePalo Alto Networks developed and validated the technology over six months of internal testing and across more than 100 customer engagements, backed by a $17 million research and development investment.

Internal deployment uncovered a year’s worth of system exposures in three weeks, while customer assessments revealed vulnerabilities in 100% of client environments, 37% of which carried high or critical severity ratings, with over two-thirds of third-party app exposures lacking a known CVE.

Highlighting the shift in threat dynamics, Sam Rubin, Senior Vice President of Unit 42, stated that AI tools enable threat actors to compress breach cycles by up to 97%, declaring that “modern cybersecurity requires machine-speed defense.”

PANW Stock Wobbles ThursdayPANW Price Action: Palo Alto Networks shares were up 0.09% at $393.65 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock is trading near its 52-week high of $398.88, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Envestnet Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,010,228 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 72,017 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.12% of Palo Alto Networks worth $344,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the second 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 period. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% during the second quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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

Positive Sentiment: AI security service launch: Palo Alto Networks introduced Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense, an agentic offensive-security service that continuously identifies, validates and helps remediate enterprise vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. The service uses gated models from Anthropic and OpenAI, including Claude Mythos and GPT-5.6, strengthening PANW’s positioning in the fast-growing AI security market. Why Palo Alto Networks Stock Is Trading Up Today Positive Sentiment: Strong Prisma AIRS adoption: Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma AIRS business surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, signaling rapid enterprise adoption of tools designed to secure AI applications and potentially supporting future growth in recurring software revenue. Can Prisma AIRS’ $100M ARR Milestone Drive PANW’s AI Security Growth? Positive Sentiment: Favorable sector rotation: Cybersecurity stocks rallied even as broader large-cap technology shares weakened. Investors may be favoring cybersecurity because expanding AI-driven attack surfaces make security spending mission-critical and less discretionary. Cybersecurity Stocks Rally While Large-Cap Tech Slides Neutral Sentiment: AI investment outlook: Commentary suggesting a potential slowdown in capital-intensive AI spending could shift investor interest toward established software and cybersecurity companies such as PANW. However, this is a broader market theme rather than a direct change to Palo Alto Networks’ fundamentals. Frontier AI Slowdown: Stocks and ETFs to Watch Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Director James Goetz sold 20,000 PANW shares for approximately $7.5 million. The transaction may modestly weigh on sentiment, although one insider sale does not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s outlook. Palo Alto Networks Director Sells 20,000 Shares Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. HSBC reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.02. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 5.0% Shares of PANW stock opened at $393.30 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $398.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average is $354.98 and its 200-day moving average is $274.49. The stock has a market cap of $321.72 billion, a PE ratio of 771.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks In related news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total transaction of $7,533,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total transaction of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,322 shares of company stock valued at $10,546,409. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

(Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.

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Annual contracts can productize Unit 42 expertise, but model and remediation costs will decide margins. Summary

Palo Alto is turning offensive-security labor into recurring software revenue.

Palo Alto Networks PANW, the enterprise cybersecurity company, launched a worldwide annual subscription that puts Unit 42's security testing on a continuous cycle. Shares rose about 3.45% to $387.485 Wednesday morning. The pitch is straightforward: find a weakness, check whether an attacker could use it, then help the customer fix it.

The service draws on Anthropic's Claude Mythos 5, OpenAI's GPT-5.6-Cyber and open-weight models. Palo Alto says it can test applications, APIs, cloud systems, code and networks, then prioritize fixes and recommend virtual patches. The distinction is whether those tests lead to fewer openings for attackers, rather than a longer list of alerts.

At $387.485, the shares stood 66.17% above the $233.18 GF Value shown for September 23. That is a demanding price for a new subscription service. Annual contracts could make Unit 42's revenue steadier, but model usage and specialist work have costs. Renewals, customer results and margins will show whether this launch earns its place in the valuation.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Click for the complete disclosure

Palo Alto Networks PANW , the enterprise-cybersecurity platform, launched a new subscription service built to hunt for security weaknesses continuously instead of waiting for the next scheduled assessment. Shares fell approximately 1.2% to $367.35.

Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense brings together Anthropic's Claude Mythos 5, OpenAI's GPT-5.6-Cyber and open-weight models to probe applications, APIs and cloud infrastructure for vulnerabilities and potential attack paths. The platform can also recommend code-level fixes and virtual patches, while annual pricing varies depending on the mix of AI models a customer chooses. That gives Palo Alto a way to push more Unit 42 work into an always-on product rather than relying only on periodic consulting engagements.

The economics are where this gets interesting. Recurring contracts could make security testing more predictable and scalable, but heavy model usage can also bring meaningful compute costs, while difficult remediation work may still need human specialists. The valuation picture leaves little room for disappointment: the shares trade at $367.35 versus a GF Value of $233.09, putting the market price 57.6% above GF Value. That gap suggests investors are already pricing in substantial growth, making renewal rates and service margins more important than simply showing how many vulnerabilities the AI can uncover.