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

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In the latest trading session, Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed at $388.48, marking a +0.55% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.09% loss on the day.

Heading into today, shares of the security software maker had lost 0.99% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.73% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.28% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from PANW as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be August 23, 2021. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.44, down 2.7% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.17 billion, up 23.44% from the year-ago period.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for PANW should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. PANW currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note PANW's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 54.57. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 41.85.

Also, we should mention that PANW has a PEG ratio of 2.34. 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. Security stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.63 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 117, putting it in the top 47% 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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