In This Article:
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) closed the most recent trading day at $172.83, moving -1.53% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.16% gain on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.25%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.06%.
Shares of the security software maker have depreciated by 9.94% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.17% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.8%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Palo Alto Networks in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Palo Alto Networks is projected to report earnings of $0.76 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 4.11%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.24 billion, up 13.22% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $3.07 per share and a revenue of $9.15 billion, demonstrating changes of +8.1% and +13.98%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.06% higher. Palo Alto Networks currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Palo Alto Networks is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 57.13. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 29.33, which means Palo Alto Networks is trading at a premium to the group.
It's also important to note that PANW currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.92. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Internet - Software stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.12 based on yesterday's closing prices.