Philip
Founder & CEO of Intrinsiqq, Value & Growth Investor
Palo Alto Networks has strong secular tailwinds as AI adoption drives platform market-share gains, so the winner should be left to run. Morgan Stanley named it a sector top pick, raised its target to $410 from $394 with an Overweight rating, and cited underestimated enterprise spending consolidation. The stock trades near 52-week highs. x.comÂ
Palo Alto Networks was unjustly sold off on overblown AI concerns, when AI adoption should actually be a tailwind. Its Next-Gen Security ARR has tripled over three years. x.comÂ
Cybersecurity is a clear secondary beneficiary of AI that has been lumped into the software selloff, and Palo Alto Networks is one of the safe bets. It trades at 9x NTM sales for about 23% growth, with a Rule of 40 score above 60 and its CEO buying shares, which is hard to ignore. CrowdStrike and Zscaler are the other safe bets. x.comÂ
Palo Alto Networks is an expensive stock for the profit growth it will deliver over the next couple of years, despite another strong quarter and a promising annual guide. x.com x.comÂ
Palo Alto Networks wants every AI agent's credentials routed through it, and whoever brokers the keys sits inline on every action a CISO wants to control. It is the only firewall vendor that also owns a top privileged-access stack. Last quarter revenue grew 34% at a 70% gross margin, with $4.11 billion of free cash flow and net cash. The price is steep at 81.2x forward earnings and 28.2x sales, leaving no cushion if cloud platforms credential agents natively. x.comÂ
Palo Alto Networks looks set for a near-term move to $400-$410 after its CEO bought $10M of shares. The setup resembles Dell's, and cybersecurity looks attractive here. x.comÂ
Palo Alto Networks at 21x forward sales is too expensive for 17% pro-forma growth, despite BTIG's view that it is worth more than the current price. x.comÂ
Cybersecurity is the one software subsector where AI strengthens the story, because every AI gain arms both attackers and defenders, so spending only ratchets up. The market is forecast to grow from $189 billion in 2024 to $402 billion by 2034. Palo Alto sells consolidation: revenue grew 31% last quarter, and once customers platformize, switching costs become a fortress. Fortinet and Palo Alto rank first and second among software names in an 811-stock screen driven by institutional buying. x.com … Show more
Palo Alto Networks benefits from AI increasing software exploits, a basic insight that made it an easy cybersecurity pick. Its CEO also comes across well on podcasts. x.comÂ
Palo Alto Networks is too expensive at 21x sales and 79x forward earnings for a company expected to grow only about 20% over the next few years. Cybersecurity matters more as AI advances, but even a good company has to be bought at the right price, which is why the stock fell even after a big earnings beat. x.comÂ
Palo Alto Networks hit its $320 target on Q3 results as AI platform security and platformization hit full stride. Revenue of $3.0B, EPS of $0.85, RPO of $18.4B and next-gen security ARR of $8.1B beat estimates, and 2026 guidance rose to $11.4B of revenue and $3.78 of EPS, above estimates. CyberArk and Chronosphere contributed $388M of revenue, while AI security demand keeps supporting the platform strategy. x.com x.comÂ
