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Investing.com - Bernstein SocGen Group raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) to $210 from $207 while maintaining an Outperform rating following the company’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 results. The new target represents a 5% upside from the current price of $199.90, though still below the Street’s high target of $255. InvestingPro data shows PANW is currently trading slightly above its Fair Value.
The cybersecurity firm reported revenue that exceeded the top end of its guidance by $4 million and beat its annual recurring revenue (ARR) guide by $10 million, prompting a $20 million raise to its full-year outlook. This performance aligns with the company’s strong 14.87% revenue growth over the last twelve months, bringing total revenue to $9.22 billion.
Palo Alto Networks saw platformization deals increase to over 60 this quarter compared to mid-40s in the same period last year, excluding the QRadar acquisition, according to Bernstein’s analysis.
Software continued to represent a growing portion of Palo Alto’s product revenue, reaching 44% on a trailing twelve-month basis compared to 38% a year earlier, with SASE/SSE solutions growing 34% year-over-year and becoming the largest contributor to platformization success. InvestingPro identifies PANW as a "prominent player in the Software industry" with a "GREAT" overall financial health score of 3.03. Subscribers can access 11 more ProTips and comprehensive analysis in PANW’s Pro Research Report.
The company also announced a $3.35 billion acquisition of observability vendor Chronosphere with approximately $160 million in ARR, which management described as an entry into a new $32 billion total addressable market that complements their SEIM and operations offerings. Despite this significant investment, PANW maintains a moderate debt level with a debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.05, according to InvestingPro data.
In other recent news, Palo Alto Networks reported its fiscal first-quarter 2026 results, surpassing expectations with non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.93, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company’s revenue reached $2.47 billion, slightly exceeding the anticipated $2.46 billion and showing a 16% year-over-year growth. Palo Alto Networks also achieved a non-GAAP operating margin of 30.2%, surpassing the forecasted 29.1%. Analysts have responded to these results with varying ratings and price targets. Citizens reiterated a Market Outperform rating with a $250 price target, while Truist Securities maintained a Buy rating with a $220 target. UBS lowered its price target from $230 to $220, citing a mixed outlook but described the results as "generally positive." TD Cowen upheld its Buy rating with a $255 price target, noting significant growth in Annual Recurring Revenue and Remaining Performance Obligations. Meanwhile, Guggenheim maintained a Sell rating with a $135 price target, acknowledging the results were in line with or slightly better than expectations.
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