Palo Alto Networks Receives Strong Buy Rating with 19.9% Price Target Increase

JP Morgan's Brian Essex raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) by 19.9% from $272 to $326 on 2023/12/11. The analyst maintained their Strong Buy rating on the stock.

According to the analyst, this increase in price target was a result of a thorough analysis of their Security Software portfolio, taking into account the current and future market environments. Essex noted that recent weeks have seen a expansion in stock multiples, indicating a shift in market sentiment towards risk-on.

In addition to the rating change for Palo Alto Networks, Essex also made adjustments to other names in their portfolio. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd saw its price target raised by 11.1% from $135 to $150, while Fortinet Inc's target was increased by 7.7% from $52 to $56. Rapid7 Inc and Varonis Systems Inc also had their price targets raised by 17.3% and 36.1% respectively. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc saw the largest increase, with its price target raised by 17% from $230 to $269. All of these stocks maintained their respective ratings.

When it comes to Palo Alto Networks, 92.6% of top-rated analysts currently rate the stock as a Strong Buy or Buy, while 7.4% see it as a Hold. No analysts recommend or strongly recommend selling the stock.

Looking at the performance of Palo Alto Networks, the stock has shown significant growth. Since its last quarterly report on 2023/10/31, the stock price has increased by 23.4%. Year-over-year, the stock is up an impressive 85.4%. During this period, Palo Alto Networks has outpaced the S&P 500, which has seen a gain of 15.8%.

JP Morgan analyst Brian Essex, who made the rating change, is ranked in the top 17% out of 4,426 Wall Street analysts by WallStreetZen. Essex has an average return of 5.2% and a win rate of 48.1%. They specialize in the Consumer Cyclical, Industrials, and Technology sectors.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity solutions company that operates both in the U.S. and internationally. Their offerings include Panorama, a security management solution that allows control of firewall appliances and software across various network environments. The company also provides subscription services covering threat prevention, malware threat, URL filtering, device protection, and firewalls. Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

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WallStreetZen and Don Francis do not hold any positions in the companies mentioned in this article. The information and statistics provided herein are presented for general informational purposes only and may not be accurate, complete, or up-to-date. It should not be interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks and should not be solely relied upon for making investment decisions. It does not take into account your financial situation or risk profile. All investors should conduct their own investment due diligence before buying a stock. WallStreetZen expressly disclaims any liability for the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the analysts' information, price targets, ratings, or opinions.