Palo Alto Stock Pops As Analysts Say Strong Growth, CyberArk Deal Could Power Next Leg Higher

Core Viewpoint - Palo Alto Networks (PANW) shares are experiencing an upward trend following the company's strong fourth-quarter performance and positive guidance, leading to a generally favorable outlook from Wall Street analysts [1] Analyst Ratings and Price Forecasts - Needham's Mike Cikos reiterated a Buy rating with a price target of $230 [2] - Rosenblatt's Catharine Trebnick maintained a Buy rating and increased her price target from $215 to $225 [2] - WestPark Capital's Casey Ryan kept a Hold rating [2] - Citizens JMP's Trevor Walsh maintained a Market Outperform rating with a price target of $212 [2] - Scotiabank's Patrick Colville continued a Sector Outperform rating and raised the price target from $225 to $228 [2] - Guggenheim's John Difucci reiterated a Sell recommendation but raised the price target from $130 to $135 [3] - Stephens' Todd Weller kept an Equal-Weight rating with a price target of $205 [4] - Wedbush's Daniel Ives reaffirmed an Outperform rating with a price target of $225 [4] - DA Davidson's Rudy Kessinger maintained a Buy rating with a price target of $215 [4] - RBC Capital's Matthew Hedberg reiterated an Outperform rating and raised the price target to $232 [4] - Truist's Junaid Siddiqui maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $205 to $220 [5] - BMO Capital's Keith Bachman kept a Buy rating and raised the price target to $225 [5] - Raymond James analyst Adam Tindle reiterated a Hold rating [5] - Piper Sandler's Rob D. Owens maintained an Overweight rating with a price target of $225 [5] - Goldman Sachs' Gabriela Borges reiterated a Buy rating with a price target of $236 [5] - Oppenheimer's Ittai Kidron held his Outperform rating with a price target of $225 [5] Company Performance Insights - Scotiabank's Patrick Colville highlighted strong organic growth, record RPO gains, product momentum, and margin expansion, viewing Palo Alto as a leading long-term cybersecurity story [6] - BMO Capital's Keith Bachman noted fiscal 2026 Next-Generation Security Annual Recurring Revenue growth guidance of 26–27% and pro forma fiscal 2028 Free Cash Flow margins above 40% with CyberArk [7] - Guggenheim's John Difucci acknowledged that Palo Alto's fourth-quarter results were slightly ahead of expectations, with strong RPO, but expressed concerns about RPO duration affecting momentum analysis [8] - Truist's Junaid Siddiqui emphasized that fourth-quarter revenue, RPO, and NGS ARR all exceeded expectations, attributing momentum to SASE, XSIAM, and software firewalls [9] - Rosenblatt's Catharine Trebnick noted fourth-quarter beats across revenue, NGS ARR, and EPS, with fiscal 2026 guidance exceeding expectations, citing platformization strength and CyberArk synergies supporting a 40%+ fiscal 2028 Free Cash Flow margin [10]