Intel stock spikes after report of possible US government stake
Investing.com -- Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) received the strongest channel feedback in D.A. Davidson’s latest off-calendar Value-Added Reseller (VAR) survey, prompting the brokerage to reaffirm its Buy rating on the stock.
Analyst Rudy Kessinger said the security software vendor delivered the “second largest quarter-on-quarter (Q/Q) improvement in net sales performance vs. plan & best out of all vendors on this metric for the third straight survey,” with the best pipeline strength for the same period.
Strong win rates against nine of ten tracked competitors and improved firewall appliance growth also supported confidence in the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter (FQ4) annual recurring revenue (ARR) and remaining performance obligation (RPO) attainment.
The survey data also showed a continued V-shaped recovery in the Buy-rated CrowdStrike’s (NASDAQ:CRWD) net sales performance, now improving for the third straight quarter.
While still middle of the pack compared to peers, the company posted the highest percentage of VARs closing the quarter early and a record high mix of VARs reporting strong traction in Cloud Security.
Some headwinds remain, including weaker win rates versus key platform competitors and increased discounting.
SentinelOne (NYSE:S), rated Neutral, recorded the largest sequential improvement in net sales performance, the second strongest in the survey, after a weak first quarter.
“Pipeline strength improved Q/Q & was the second strongest out of the seven vendors in the survey, though still weaker than what we observed in FQ2 & FQ3 last year,” the note added.
However, Kessinger cautioned that second-half (2H) consensus Net New Annual Recurring Revenue (NNARR) expectations may still be too high.
Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA), also rated Neutral, posted the third-largest sequential improvement in net sales performance but continued to trail most vendors.
The company’s attach rates for Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) and Privileged Access Management (PAM) reached record highs in the seven quarters Davidson has tracked the data, particularly in the enterprise segment.
Pipeline strength, however, remained tied for the weakest in the survey, and win rates slipped versus most competitors.
Among uncovered names, Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) ranked third for both net sales performance and pipeline strength, while Rubrik and SailPoint showed weaker relative metrics.
Sailpoint (NASDAQ:SAIL) was the only vendor to post a sequential decline in net sales performance.
Davidson noted that overall security software sales performance improved quarter-over-quarter, with stronger pipeline trends and better expectations for the federal buying cycle in Q3, though metrics remain below the levels seen in late fiscal 2025.