Deutsche Bank Raises Palo Alto Networks Price Target

Following first-quarter results, analysts at Deutsche Bank raised the price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW from $100 to $125 and reiterated the Buy rating.

For the first quarter the company reported EPS of $0.15 on revenue of $192.30 million, beating top and bottom line estimates.

Karl Keirstead finds the results were strong for the company and highlighted positives from the quarter:

• “In a market that's growing at a 5%-10% clip, PANW's 50% revenue growth and 52% billings growth don’t imply any slowdown in the pace of market share gains.”
• “The up-sell of subscription modules was very strong and it doesn’t feel as if PANW is reaching an attach rate ceiling.”
• “WildFire reached 4,000 paid customers, up from 3,000 last quarter, representing 19% of PANW’s total customer base of 21,000. OCF margins of 39% were at record levels and non-GAAP operating margins of 10.6% were well above our 9% estimate, making PANW’s guidance for 4QFY15 operating margins of “low-teens” seem very doable.”

Shares of Palo Alto Networks recently traded at $117.89, up 4 percent.