Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed at $512.86, marking a -0.88% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.69%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.78%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.28%.

Coming into today, shares of the security software maker had lost 4.93% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 8.19%, while the S&P 500 lost 5.29%.

Palo Alto Networks will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Palo Alto Networks is projected to report earnings of $1.57 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.29%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.28 billion, up 25.9% from the year-ago period.

PANW's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.24 per share and revenue of $5.39 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +17.92% and +26.57%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Palo Alto Networks is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Investors should also note Palo Alto Networks's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 71.45. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 64.31, so we one might conclude that Palo Alto Networks is trading at a premium comparatively.

Meanwhile, PANW's PEG ratio is currently 2.44. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. PANW's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.57 as of yesterday's close.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 80, putting it in the top 32% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) - free report >>

Published in