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Santa Clara, California-based Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. With a market cap of $127.3 billion, Palo Alto Networks offers firewall appliances and software and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platforms.
Palo Alto Networks has notably underperformed the broader market over the past year. PANW stock has gained 6.4% over the past year lagging behind the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 20.6% gains over the same time frame. However, in 2025, PANW has soared 6.6% outpacing SPX’s 2.5% surge on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, PANW has also lagged behind the industry-focused Amplify Cybersecurity ETF’s (HACK) 24.6% gains over the past year and 8.2% returns in 2025.
Palo Alto Networks’ stock prices rose 1.2% in the trading session after the release of its impressive Q1 results on Nov. 20. Propelled by the company's emphasis on its platformization strategy, its financials experienced a substantial boost. Its subscription and support revenues surged 16.1% year-over-year to $1.8 billion, leading to a solid 13.9% year-over-year growth in total revenues, amounting to over $2.1 billion, exceeding the Street’s expectations by 95 basis points. Meanwhile, its GAAP-based net income for the quarter soared by a humongous 80.6% year-over-year to $350.7 million.
For the current fiscal 2025, ending in July, analysts expect PANW to deliver a 16% year-over-year growth in adjusted EPS to $1.74. Furthermore, the company has a robust earnings surprise history. It has matched or surpassed the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 47 analysts covering the PANW stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on 32 “Strong Buy,” 2 “Moderate Buy,” 12 “Hold,” and one “Strong Sell” rating.
This configuration is slightly less bullish than two months ago when 34 analysts gave “Strong Buy” recommendations.
On Jan. 21, Scotiabank analyst Patrick Colville raised the firm’s price target on PANW to $225, while maintaining an “Outperform” rating.
While PANW’s mean price target of $205.42 suggests a modest 5.9% upside potential, its street-high target of $240 represents a 23.7% premium to current price levels.
