Is Palo Alto Networks a buy right now?

Roth Capital Markets analyst Taz Koujalgi maintained a “Neutral” rating and $210 price target on Palo Alto Networks (Palo Alto Networks Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:PANW) in an Aug. 19 report after the company posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter 2025 results.

“Against the backdrop of mixed results from its peers, PANW reported a good quarter,” Koujalgi said. “Software firewalls were the star of the show, driving product revenue beat and growing ~52% y/y. All the metrics came in above Street expectations with RPO (remaining performance obligations – a measure of future revenue under contract) having the healthiest beat, but we believe that contract duration also helped.”

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Palo Alto Networks is a cybersecurity company that provides network security solutions to businesses, service providers, and governments worldwide.

Revenue in FQ4 was $2.54-billion, up 16% year over year and above both guidance ($2.49–$2.51-billion) and consensus ($2.50-billion). Next-generation security ARR (annual recurring revenue) was $5.58-billion, up 32% and ahead of expectations, while RPO grew 24% to $15.8-billion, also above guidance and Street estimates. Operating margin was 30.3%, above the 28.8% forecast.

Looking ahead, Palo Alto guided FQ1/26 revenue to $2.45–$2.47-billion versus consensus at $2.43-billion. For fiscal 2026, management projected revenue of $10.48–$10.53-billion (Street $10.42-billion), ARR of $7.0–$7.1-billion, and RPO of $18.6–$18.7-billion. Free cash flow margin is expected at 38–39%.

Koujalgi noted that near-term guidance appears conservative given seasonal strength in Q4, but said back-half assumptions for 2026 could prove aggressive. “However, we believe that PANW has a lot of flexibility in its contract durations,” he wrote.

Roth’s $210 target is based on 34x 2026E EV/FCF, implying about 2.3x EV/FCF/g, slightly below the 2.5x median for the firm’s coverage.

-30-