Wall Street Still Likes Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW unveiled two innovations just before their hallmark two-day Ignite conference in Las Vegas. The corporate and government cyber security company announced that they will be expanding mobile cyber security measures and threat intelligence services.

On March 31, Palo Alto Networks announced an expanded partnership with VMware, Inc. VMW, a high-tech company that focuses on virtualization software and cloud infrastructure. Now, the two companies will tackle mobile security, expanding upon their existing partnership to develop security services across physical and cloud environments.

Since people often take sensitive work home with them from the office, Palo Alto and VMware are introducing new security measures that protect users on all devices. Mobile security will give people flexibility by allowing them to work from personal devices while providing malware detection, network protection, and network security.

Separately on March 31, Palo Alto Networks unveiled an AutoFocus cyber threat intelligence service that will anticipate cyber hacks before they occur. The service will be available this month to a limited set of existing customers. The AutoFocus service offers priority alerts on attacks from a threat research team, context for each attack, and incorporates fidelity threat intelligence.

According to SmarterAnalyst, Shaul Eyal of Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on Palo Alto Networks on March 31, though he did not provide a price target. Eyal highlighted the AutoFocus Threat Intelligence and "tighter integration with VMW's AirWatch via PANW's GlobalProtect subscription." Both innovations remain congruent with "PANW's core ethos of scaling down the attack surface area."

The analyst added, "This isn't PANW's first time seeking tighter integration with VMW (i.e. NSX integration). Threat Intelligence and mobility are key security "pain points" that PANW can address through its disruptive platform while extending market share."
Shaul Eyal has rated Palo Alto Networks 13 times since June 2013, earning a 78 percent success rate recommending the stock and a +35.5 percent average return per recommendation. Overall, Eyal has a 67 percent success rate recommending stocks and a +12.4 percent average return per recommendation.

Separately on March 31, FBR Capital analyst Daniel Ives maintained an Outperform rating on Palo Alto Networks, though he did not provide a price target. Ives commented that the theme of the Ignite conference has been PANW's "next-generation cybersecurity platform with its prevention-focused technology, as well as its growing product footprint/market share gains on the heels of strong secular tailwinds."

The analyst predicts rapid growth for PANW after hearing management's vision to integrate "its threat intelligence cloud, advanced endpoint protection, and next-generation firewall." Ives concluded that Palo Alto Networks is "doing the right things at the right time with "red-hot" growth prospects given execution acumen, a laser-focused growth strategy, and expanding TAM."

Daniel Ives has rated Palo Alto 12 times since December 2012, earning a 60 percent success rate recommending the stock and a +31.1 percent average return per rating. Overall, Ives has a 54 percent success rate recommending stocks and a +7.2 percent average return per recommendation.

The top analyst consensus for Palo Alto Networks on TipRanks is Strong Buy.