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

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Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed at $166.94 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.72% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.3%. At the same time, the Dow 0%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.92%.

Coming into today, shares of the security software maker had lost 10.13% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 6.3%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.06%.

PANW will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 29, 2018. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.05, up 41.89% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $631.70 million, up 24.97% from the year-ago period.

PANW's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.03 per share and revenue of $2.78 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +26.07% and +22.14%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for PANW should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. PANW is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at its valuation, PANW is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 33.2. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 45.17, so we one might conclude that PANW is trading at a discount comparatively.

Investors should also note that PANW has a PEG ratio of 1.42 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. PANW's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.38 as of yesterday's close.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 21, which puts it in the top 8% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow PANW in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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