Palo Alto Shares Head for Record-High Close, Analysts See Benefits to Identity Security Pivot

Published: 2026-05-15 14:10:21 ET PANW

Published on 05/15/2026 at 02:10 pm EDT

By Kelly Cloonan

Shares of Palo Alto Networks rose as analysts remain optimistic about the cybersecurity company's pivot to focus on identity and agentic identity security.

The stock ticked up 2% to $242.88 on Friday, and is on track to close at an all-time high. Shares are up 32% year to date.

Oppenheimer analysts said the CyberArk Impact 2026 conference advanced the company's strategy, with CyberArk rebranding as Idira and positioned as a core technology that underpins a broader platform approach.

The conference followed Palo Alto's acquisition of CyberArk, which closed earlier this year.

CyberArk's existing customers indicated no friction from the deal, strong spending intentions and increasing demand for cross-selling into machine identity, followed by a budding AI agent security strategy, the analysts said.

"Overall, Impact 2026 reinforces our positive view of Palo Alto's pivot into identity/agentic identity security," the analysts said, raising their price target on the stock to $275 from $245.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-15-26 1409ET