Palo Alto Networks Gets a New Price Target: Is It Warranted?

A sell-side firm, Stifel Financial Corp. SF, raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks PANW to $360 from $330 ahead of the cybersecurity firm's fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter results next week.

Let's check out the charts and indicators. 

In the daily bar chart of PANW, below, I can see that the shares have worked higher in the past 12 months but the peak in February has marked the high for over six months now. Prices tested the rising 200-day moving average line in early August. 

The daily trading volume is on the light side and is not expanding in the direction of the trend. The On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line has risen over the past year but has stalled in July. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator is below the zero line but poised to make a cover shorts buy signal.

In the weekly Japanese candlestick chart of PANW, below, I can see a mixed picture. the shares tripled in the past two years but that is old news. Prices have tested the rising 40-week moving average line. 

The weekly trading volume has declined over the past five or six months and suggests that investor interest has shifted to other stocks. The weekly OBV line shows a long rise but also a peak in July and subsequent weakness. The MACD oscillator is above the zero line but struggling to improve.

In this daily Point and Figure chart of PANW, below, I can see that prices reached and exceeded a downside price target of $301 before rebounding.

In this weekly Point and Figure chart of PANW, below, I can see a price target in the $229 area.

Bottom-line strategy: The charts of PANW are mixed — some bullish and some bearish. In this current unsettled environment for the broader market averages I would stand aside for now and take no position. Traders who are long PANW should use a sell stop at $280.

Employees of TheStreet are prohibited from trading individual securities.