PANW Price Targets Raised By Citi, Goldman Sachs On AI-Driven Security Demand

• Citi raises PT to $340 from $210, expects double-digit growth in next-gen security ARR to continue.
• Goldman lifts PT to $330 from $224 after Q3 beat, highlights AI as key incremental demand driver.
• Firms see expanding opportunity across security operations, observability, and AI-focused security products.

Palo Alto Networks is seeing bullish sentiment from Wall Street, with Citi and Goldman Sachs both raising their price targets on expectations of continued strength in AI-driven security demand and next-generation cybersecurity growth.

Despite this, PANW shares are trading lower in after-hours trade. At the time of writing, the stock was down 2.3% after hours, following a 5.64% decline in the regular session. 

Citi Sees Steady Next-Gen Security Growth

Citi raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $340 from $210 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating.

Analyst Fatima Boolani said that recent stock weakness has been driven by a perceived slowdown in organic growth momentum and reduced visibility into organic versus inorganic disclosures. However, Citi’s analysis, supported by management commentary, indicates that double-digit growth in next-generation security annual recurring revenue is likely to continue, according to TheFly.

Goldman Points To AI-Driven Security Spending

Goldman Sachs also lifted its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $330 from $224, reiterating a ‘Buy’ rating after the company’s Q3 earnings beat.

The firm highlighted that the most important signal from the quarter is the continued role of AI in driving “incremental security spending,” according to TheFly. It expects ongoing share gains “in categories like security operations and observability.”

Goldman also pointed to rising demand across AI-focused product cycles, “such as Koi for runtime agentic security, Protect for AI app and model security, agentic identity, and AI infrastructure.”

PANW Stock: What Retail Thinks

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remains ‘extremely bullish,’ unchanged over the past 24 hours, while message volume is ‘extremely high.’ PANW’s message volume over the past seven days is up 1,583%.

The PANW stock has gained nearly 50% year-to-date. 

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