Palo Alto Networks Fell Today -- Is the Stock a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) stock saw a modest pullback in Friday's trading. The company's share price closed out the daily session down 0.9% amid a 0.1% decline for the S&P 500 index and a 0.4% decline for the Nasdaq Composite index. The stock had been down as much as 6.5% earlier in the day's trading.After the market closed yesterday, Palo Alto published results for the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year -- a period which ended Jan. 31. The company posted better-than-expected sales and earnings performance for the period and solid forward guidance, but the stock lost ground as margins and performance forecasts fell short of some investors expectations.The cybersecurity specialist posted non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81 on revenue of $2.26 billion. The performance came in significantly better than the average Wall Street forecast, which called for adjusted per-share earnings of $0.78 on revenue of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto's revenue was up roughly 14% year over year, and its EPS was up roughly 11% year over year in the period. While both sales and earnings beat the average Wall Street target, some investors may have been looking for stronger performance on the margins front.Continue reading

Feb 14, 2025 - 22:59
 0
Palo Alto Networks Fell Today -- Is the Stock a Buy?

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) stock saw a modest pullback in Friday's trading. The company's share price closed out the daily session down 0.9% amid a 0.1% decline for the S&P 500 index and a 0.4% decline for the Nasdaq Composite index. The stock had been down as much as 6.5% earlier in the day's trading.

After the market closed yesterday, Palo Alto published results for the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year -- a period which ended Jan. 31. The company posted better-than-expected sales and earnings performance for the period and solid forward guidance, but the stock lost ground as margins and performance forecasts fell short of some investors expectations.

The cybersecurity specialist posted non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81 on revenue of $2.26 billion. The performance came in significantly better than the average Wall Street forecast, which called for adjusted per-share earnings of $0.78 on revenue of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto's revenue was up roughly 14% year over year, and its EPS was up roughly 11% year over year in the period. While both sales and earnings beat the average Wall Street target, some investors may have been looking for stronger performance on the margins front.

Continue reading