PANW posts Q4 beat and issues FY27 guidance; analysts raise targets

Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ: PANW ) on Tuesday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued strong FY27 guidance.

Palo Alto posted fourth-quarter revenue of $3.41 billion, beating analyst estimates of $3.35 billion.

The cybersecurity company reported adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share for the quarter, beating estimates of 98 cents per share, according to Pro. "We delivered a strong Q4 to close out the year, adding nearly $1 billion of Net New NGS ARR in a single quarter," said Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks.

Palo Alto expects first-quarter revenue to be in the range of $3.30 billion to $3.31 billion versus estimates of $3.22 billion.

The company anticipates first-quarter adjusted earnings between 96 cents and 98 cents per share versus estimates of 93 cents per share.

Palo Alto also introduced fiscal 2027 guidance.

The company expects full-year revenue of $14.10 billion to $14.20 billion versus estimates of $13.79 billion, and adjusted earnings of $4.16 to $4.19 per share versus estimates of $4.11 per share.

Palo Alto also announced the acquisition of Console, an AI-native platform that enables agentic capabilities.

Palo Alto shares fell 1.2% to $357.90 in pre-market trading.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Palo Alto following earnings announcement.

BTIG analyst Gray Powell maintained the stock with a Buy and raised the price target from $380 to $404.

Rosenblatt analyst Catharine Trebnick maintained the stock with a Buy and raised the price target from $355 to $415.

Morgan Stanley analyst Meta Marshall maintained the stock with an Overweight rating and boosted the price target from $387 to $394.

Considering buying PANW stock? Here’s what analysts think: Photo via Shutterstock