DA Davidson Has Bullish Forecast for PANW FY2026 Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2026 EPS estimates for Palo Alto Networks in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, November 21st. DA Davidson analyst R. Kessinger now forecasts that the network technology company will post earnings per share of $4.27 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.44. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $3.56 per share.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $402.03.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.8 %

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $386.38 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $260.09 and a 12-month high of $408.53. The company has a market capitalization of $125.81 billion, a PE ratio of 50.31, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $365.13 and its 200 day moving average is $340.53.

Palo Alto Networks’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Monday, December 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Wednesday, November 20th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, December 13th.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,656,968 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,609,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,099,564,000 after purchasing an additional 255,060 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,147,215 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,075,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,233,918 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $757,321,000 after buying an additional 114,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.98, for a total value of $20,698,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,854,924.82. This represents a 27.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.50, for a total transaction of $11,970,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,115,567 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 244,252 shares of company stock valued at $85,556,737 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.