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Palo Alto Networks' Dip Might Be a Gift if This One Thing Holds
Written by Thomas Hughes. Publication Date: 2/19/2026.
Key Points
- Analysts largely view Palo Alto’s guidance-driven dip as temporary, with integration costs pressuring near-term margins but supporting long-term positioning.
- Institutional ownership and recent buying activity are presented as key supports, with price action holding near a stated critical level.
- Core business momentum—especially Next-Gen Security ARR and rising RPO—supports the case for re-acceleration once costs normalize.
Palo Alto Networks’ (NASDAQ: PANW) February guidance update created a buy-the-dip opportunity, at least according to analysts who point to the company’s growth, outlook and cash flow while flagging near-term weakness. The 2026 earnings outlook was trimmed, but there are mitigating factors — notably accelerating and sustainable outperformance and a clear explanation for the short-term pressure: integration costs. Palo Alto’s recent acquisitions are weighing on margins now, but they help to cement its position in the cybersecurity ecosystem.
Analyst reactions, as tracked by MarketBeat, were mixed. MarketBeat recorded 14 analyst revisions within the first 12 hours after the update, including eight lower price targets. Those cuts largely align with the consensus; other firms reiterated ratings and targets. The takeaway: 42 analysts rate the stock as a consensus Moderate Buy, and the consensus implies more than 40% upside from the critical support level.
Palo Alto Well Supported at Critical Levels: Institutions Accumulate in 2026
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Click here now to see the full reportThe critical support target lines up with long-term lows set in 2024 and 2025 and appears unlikely to be breached. The market sold off on the guidance, but the decline didn’t reach that support before a rebound began. Early price action suggests support remains solid near the $150 level, which could serve as the launchpad for a recovery.
Institutions are likely buyers of this dip. MarketBeat’s data shows they sold aggressively in Q2 and Q3 2025 — netting roughly $4.25 sold for every $1 bought — but returned to net buying in Q4 and continued that trend into early Q1 of fiscal 2026 (FY2026). Institutions provide a solid support base, owning about 80% of outstanding shares, and their activity can be a tailwind for the stock. While selling remains a risk, the Q2 FY2026 results give no indication the company is failing, suggesting a potential bottom and reversal in the months ahead.
Platformization Drives Palo Alto Results; Guides for Acceleration
Palo Alto posted a solid quarter with revenue up 15% to $2.59 billion. Growth has slowed from prior peaks but still slightly exceeded expectations. The gains were led by Next-Gen Security, which saw a 33% year-over-year increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Client wins and deeper account penetration are reflected in remaining performance obligations (RPO), which rose 23%, suggesting revenue growth should remain strong or even accelerate in coming quarters. Subscription and services revenue — the company’s primary reporting segments — grew 13% and 15%, respectively.
Margin trends are encouraging. While some growth investments have yet to fully flow through to profit, operational quality remains high. GAAP and adjusted earnings grew at double-digit rates, beating consensus by roughly 1,000 basis points. Guidance was mixed: the company raised the low end of its revenue guidance to $2.94 billion — well above the $2.60 billion consensus — but provided EPS guidance of about $0.79 versus a $0.92 consensus, which was the main near-term concern weighing on the stock.
Palo Alto’s Balance Sheet Is a Fortress
Palo Alto’s balance sheet remains strong and presents no red flags for investors. That said, the aggressive acquisition strategy — including purchases such as CyberArk, Chronosphere and Koi Security — will put pressure on resources and could dilute shareholders in the near term.
At quarter end, cash and total assets were higher, liabilities declined, and there was no material debt. Shareholders’ equity increased by about 20% and may continue to expand in coming quarters.
Among the opportunities for investors are margin recovery and the potential resumption of value-building share buybacks, possibly as soon as late 2026 or early 2027. Catalysts include continued demand for digitization and cybersecurity, the ongoing rollout of its platformization program, and successful integration of recent acquisitions.
Near-term hurdles from integration costs are expected to fade, leaving a more robust outlook for future profitability. Longer term, Palo Alto stands to benefit from the rise of the agentic enterprise and the growing need to secure it.
Can SpaceX Rival AST SpaceMobile Meet Its 2026 Launch Targets?
By Jordan Chussler. Originally Published: 2/5/2026.
Article Highlights
- AST SpaceMobile is up 28% so far in 2026 after gaining more than 240% in 2025.
- Still, the stock has exhibited its trademark volatility as investors continue to weigh bullish news and a growing clientele alongside lofty launch expectations.
- The space-based cellular company is aiming to put 45 to 60 of its satellites into low Earth orbit by the end of 2026, which may prove to be a tall order.
After gaining more than 240% in 2025, AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) has continued its strong—albeit volatile—run into 2026.
Shares of ASTS have climbed 24% year-to-date despite some trademark ups and downs, including more than five double-digit pullbacks ranging from 10% to more than 14%.
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Click here now to see the full reportBut the stock has continued to rebound on bullish developments, including last month's announcement that the space-based cellular communication services firm was awarded a government contract for the Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract.
More recently, Jeff Bezos–founded Blue Origin announced on Jan. 22 that it will use its New Glenn-3 (NG-3) heavy-lift rocket to carry AST SpaceMobile's next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellite into low Earth orbit (LEO) "no earlier than late February."
Blue Origin's New Glenn-3 will be capable of transporting up to eight of AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird satellites at a time.
The mission will mark the first time since Sept. 12, 2024, that one of the company's satellites has launched from the United States.
But in late January, global communications industry publication Light Reading reported that, at its current pace, AST SpaceMobile is at risk of missing its launch target of 45 to 60 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026.
Here's what prospective investors and current shareholders need to know about the near-term outlook for the company, which aims to provide what it calls "the world's first space-based mobile broadband network."
All Eyes Are on Tentative BlueBird 7 Launch in Late February
AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite is currently being prepared at the Launch Complex 36 facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The 2,400-square-foot array is one of dozens the company intends to put into LEO by the end of the year, with a planned launch cadence of every one to two months on average.
But as Michelle Donegan, senior editor at Light Reading, points out, that may prove to be a tall order for the Midland, Texas–based aerospace company.
"AST has fallen behind schedule from its original plans outlined last year and adjusted expectations in the last few quarters, sparking questions about whether it can still achieve its ambitious target in a compressed timeframe and provide sufficient coverage for a continuous service by year-end for its mobile operator partners," Donegan wrote.
Donegan added that AST SpaceMobile's Q1 goal of five orbital launches now appears to be out of reach, and that "the company would need three more launches before the end of March to meet this interim goal."
However, the company will not report earnings again until March 2, so public information about its progress toward the quarterly launch goal is likely to remain limited. Additionally, no further details have been posted on AST SpaceMobile's website since the Blue Origin announcement.
AST SpaceMobile's Clients Are Lined Up and Awaiting Broader Services
Donegan quoted multiple satellite analysts whose view on whether AST SpaceMobile can meet its goals boils down to "that's not happening."
But even if the company is unable to meet its self-imposed 2026 launch targets, it remains positioned to continue disrupting and chipping away at SpaceX's Starlink dominance in the 4G and 5G satellite-to-phone market over the longer term.
In addition to federal government contracts, the company—which is about 95% vertically integrated, giving it pricing power and supply-chain control—has already secured partnerships with Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), AT&T (NYSE: T), and Vodafone Group (NASDAQ: VOD).
It has also signed commercial pacts with Japanese tech conglomerate Rakuten (OTCMKTS: RKUNY), real estate investment trust American Tower (NYSE: AMT), and BCE (NYSE: BCE), formerly Bell Canada Enterprises.
One potential boost comes from Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), which holds more than 8.9 million shares of ASTS—a position it opened in early 2024 and expanded in 2025. That stake represents a significant portion of Alphabet's investment portfolio, making ASTS one of its largest holdings.
Wall Street's Long-Term View
In the short term, analysts remain skeptical, with a consensus Reduce rating and an average 12-month price target that implies potential downside of nearly 56%.
Fundamentally, the company appears solid. AST SpaceMobile's financial health has been in the Green Zone according to TradeSmith for more than nine months.
While not yet profitable because of heavy investment in building its space-based cellular network, revenue grew more than 1,239% in Q3 2025.
Meanwhile, institutional ownership has been decidedly bullish: 341 buyers over the past 12 months injected about $2.04 billion into ASTS, compared with 113 sellers who liquidated roughly $325.61 million.
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