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Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $517.25, moving +0.44% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.5%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.32%.
Heading into today, shares of the security software maker had lost 1.89% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 7.02% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.54% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Palo Alto Networks as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.28, up 42.5% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.54 billion, up 26.65% from the year-ago period.
PANW's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.45 per share and revenue of $5.5 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +21.34% and +29.12%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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. 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.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Palo Alto Networks is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.
In terms of valuation, Palo Alto Networks is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 69.08. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 58.8, so we one might conclude that Palo Alto Networks is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can also see that PANW currently has a PEG ratio of 2.19. 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. The Security was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.81 at yesterday's closing price.
The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, putting it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $517.25, moving +0.44% from the previous trading session. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.5%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.32%.
Heading into today, shares of the security software maker had lost 1.89% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 7.02% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.54% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Palo Alto Networks as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.28, up 42.5% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.54 billion, up 26.65% from the year-ago period.
PANW's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.45 per share and revenue of $5.5 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +21.34% and +29.12%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Palo Alto Networks. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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. 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.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Palo Alto Networks is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.
In terms of valuation, Palo Alto Networks is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 69.08. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 58.8, so we one might conclude that Palo Alto Networks is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can also see that PANW currently has a PEG ratio of 2.19. 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. The Security was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.81 at yesterday's closing price.
The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, putting it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.