Wedbush Boosts Earnings Estimates for Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Wedbush boosted their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report issued on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now forecasts that the network technology company will earn $0.42 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.42. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks' current full-year earnings is $3.49 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Palo Alto Networks' Q1 2026 earnings at $0.48 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.52 EPS.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PANW. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $222.50 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $197.50 to $207.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $189.36. The company had a trading volume of 5,465,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,542,798. Palo Alto Networks has a 1 year low of $130.04 and a 1 year high of $207.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $191.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.31.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 72,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.25, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,231,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,926,027.50. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $30,022,832.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,237,430 shares in the company, valued at $227,680,932.85. This trade represents a 11.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 571,172 shares of company stock worth $107,074,352 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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