Wedbush Expects Weaker Earnings for Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) – Analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now expects that the network technology company will post earnings per share of $0.48 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.49. The consensus estimate for Palo Alto Networks’ current full-year earnings is $3.49 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Palo Alto Networks’ Q2 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.13 EPS.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other reports. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $145.50 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $192.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $425.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $222.50 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.40.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $189.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.12. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $130.04 and a 52-week high of $207.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $191.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 34,318.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,259,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,113,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249,594 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,243,457 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,099,564,000 after buying an additional 255,060 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 50.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,050,173 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 114,742 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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