This Analyst Just Upped Its Price Target on Palo Alto Networks Stock. Here's Why.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) shares are in focus on Aug. 24 after Benchmark increased its price target on the cybersecurity company ahead of its fiscal Q4 earnings. Analyst Yi Fu Lee reiterated his "Buy" rating on PANW this morning and raised the price objective to $400, indicating potential upside of roughly 12% from here.

Palo Alto Networks stock has already been a blockbuster investment in 2026, currently up 90% versus the start of this year.

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Benchmark's Bullish View on Palo Alto Networks Stock

Benchmark's decision to raise price target on PANW shares reflects confidence that cybersecurity demand remains strong heading into the company's earnings event.

Palo Alto Networks continues to benefit from rising enterprise spend on security solutions as cyber threats become more sophisticated; its broad product portfolio gives customers an opportunity to consolidate multiple security tools under a single platform.

PANW has expanded beyond its traditional network-security franchise into cloud security, security operations, SASE, and AI security, allowing it to pursue larger, more comprehensive customer relationships.

Note that Palo Alto Networks is expected to report $0.51 in earnings per share (EPS) for its financial Q4, which would represent a 21.43% growth on a year-over-year basis.

PANW Shares Stand to Benefit in the Era of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes up another key pillar of Benchmark's bullish thesis. As clients deploy more AI solutions and autonomous agents, they face new security vulnerabilities while attackers can use artificial intelligence to automate and accelerate attacks.

That creates an expanding opportunity for PANW's offerings, including Prisma AIRS, the analyst told clients.

Palo Alto Networks recently highlighted its Frontier AI Critical Defense Program, saying its AI models had identified more than 14,000 previously unknown open-source vulnerabilities.

That said, PANW stock trades at a rather stretched 156x forward earnings, which warrants at least some caution heading into the quarterly release.

Wall Street's View on Palo Alto Networks

Other Wall Street analysts seem to agree with Benchmark on Palo Alto Networks shares as well.