Palo Alto Networks (PANW) stock is trading comfortably higher Tuesday after the cybersecurity company beat top- and bottom-line expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter and issued a strong outlook.
In the three months ended July 31, Palo Alto Network's revenue increased 12.1% year-over-year to $2.2 billion. Its earnings per share (EPS) was up 4.9% from the year-ago period to $1.51.
"We finished off the year with strong execution on our platformization strategy in Q4," said Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora in a statement. "As we look forward to fiscal year 2025 and beyond, we are focused on scaling our Next-Generation Security business through continued innovation and execution."
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Palo Alto Networks' results topped expectations. Wall Street was anticipating revenue of $2.16 billion and earnings of $1.41 per share, according to CNBC.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the company said it anticipates revenue in the range of $2.1 billion to $2.13 billion and earnings per share to arrive between $1.47 to $1.49. This compares to analysts' forecasts for revenue of $2.1 billion and earnings of $1.43 per share, according to Yahoo Finance.
For the all of fiscal 2025, Palo Alto Networks said it anticipates revenue in the range of $9.1 billion to $9.15 billion and EPS of $6.18 to $6.31. Analysts, meanwhile, are targeting revenue of $9.11 billion and earnings of $6.19 per share.
The report also showed that the company's board of directors approved an additional $500 million in share buybacks, bringing the total authorization to $1 billion. Stock buybacks can help boost the share price.
Is Palo Alto Networks stock a buy, sell or hold?
Palo Alto Networks has been volatile on the price charts in 2024, but shares are still up 25% for the year to date. Unsurprisingly, Wall Street is bullish on the cybersecurity stock.
For one, the consensus recommendation of the 54 analysts following PANW that are tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence is Buy. And while the average price target is $373.16, representing implied upside of about 3% to current levels, analysts may very well revise their price targets higher following the strong quarter.
In fact, financial services firm Wedbush raised its price target on PANW stock this morning to $400 from $375, while maintaining its Outperform rating (equivalent to a Buy).
"We continue to believe the platform approach in cybersecurity is the right long-term move for PANW and [it] will ultimately emerge from this transition in a stronger market position," said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives in a note to clients.
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