Analysts Offer Predictions for PANW Q1 Earnings

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has drawn attention from analysts who are providing their predictions for its upcoming Q1 2026 earnings. KeyCorp has recently released estimates, forecasting that the network technology company will achieve earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter. The firm rates the stock as ‘Overweight’ and has set a price target of $217.50. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks is set to earn $3.49 per share for the current full year.

KeyCorp has also shared projections for subsequent quarters, anticipating that Q2 2026 will see earnings of $0.54 EPS, Q3 2026 will reach $0.47 EPS, and Q4 2026 will amount to $0.62 EPS.

Additional reports from other financial institutions have contributed to the conversation surrounding Palo Alto Networks. For instance, Barclays adjusted their price target from $425.00 to $213.00 while maintaining an ‘Overweight’ rating for the company. Moreover, Truist Financial raised their target price from $200.00 to $212.50, classifying the stock as a ‘buy’ in a recent note. Similarly, TD Cowen increased their price objective to $210.00, also giving it a ‘buy’ status. Oppenheimer has reissued an ‘outperform’ rating with a $225.00 target price, while Hsbc Global Res has downgraded the stock from ‘hold’ to a ‘moderate sell’. Overall, the consensus indicates two analysts have given a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have classified it as buy, and one as a strong buy, leading to a consensus rating of ‘Moderate Buy’ and an average target price of about $201.40 according to MarketBeat.com.

Palo Alto Networks' Stock Performance

As of Monday, shares of PANW opened at $188.22. The market capitalization of the company stands at approximately $123.51 billion, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 24.51. Palo Alto Networks has seen its share prices range from a 52-week low of $130.04 to a high of $207.24. Currently, the stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.89, while its 200-day simple moving average is $175.99.

In their most recent earnings report on November 20th, Palo Alto Networks revealed earnings of $0.78 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.74 by $0.04. The company also reported a revenue of $2.14 billion for the last quarter, slightly exceeding the expected $2.12 billion. This quarter reflected a significant net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue increased by 13.9%, with the previous year boasting earnings of just $0.32 EPS.

Institutional Trading Activities

Recent trading activity has shown significant institutional interest in Palo Alto Networks. Geode Capital Management boosted its stake by 3.0% during the third quarter, acquiring an additional 220,900 shares. International Assets Investment Management saw a dramatic increase, lifting their holdings by 34,318.2% and now owning over three million shares. Likewise, Legal & General Group has raised their stake by 8.5%, while Jennison Associates increased theirs by 50.1% during the third quarter. In total, it appears that approximately 79.82% of the stock is currently held by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions

In other developments, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks on November 25th for about $65.08 million, which represents an 8.44% reduction in his stake. Following this, he retains ownership of over three million shares valued at approximately $705.73 million. Additionally, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 163,172 shares on October 10th for around $30.02 million, bringing his direct ownership down to about 1.24 million shares valued at roughly $227.68 million. Collectively, insiders have sold 571,172 shares, amounting to over $107 million in the last three months, with insiders owning around 2.50% of the total shares.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. focuses on providing cybersecurity solutions globally. Their offerings include firewall appliances, software, and a security management solution known as Panorama. The company specializes in various subscription services for threat prevention, malware protection, URL filtering, device protection, and much more, ensuring comprehensive data and network security.

Earnings, PaloAlto, Analysts