4. Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 78
Cramer was asked about Palo Alto recently. He said the stock is “terrific” and he’d be a “buyer” of the stock.
Strong demand in the cybersecurity industry is boosting Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW). Recently, Baird analysts Shrenik Kothari and Zachary Schneider said customers are focused on ROI and increased spending in the industry is benefitting Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW).
“PANW has seen this focus on ROI for some time now. Discounts are offered for larger deals rather than smaller ones to help lock in customers and maximize lifetime value. While still early days, initial customer response to new SASE 3.0 capabilities and AI features has been positive,” the analysts said.
They maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and upped their price target to $360 from $340.
DA Davidson also started covering the stock with a Buy rating and added it to its ‘Best of Breed Bison’ category of stocks.
DA Davidson’s Rudy Kessinger thinks Palo Alto Networks Inc’s (NASDAQ:PANW) three platforms will result in vendor consolidation which would be better than other companies. They believe Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) has so far captured only 7% of the market which could reach a whopping $200 billion.
Palo Alto Networks Inc’s (NASDAQ:PANW) biggest strength is its Prisma Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) product, which generated about 50% growth in the fiscal third quarter year over year. Another growth catalyst for Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) is Thunderdome Defense Information System Agency’s zero-trust network architecture.
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Given our view that the overall market looks expensive, mostly due to mega cap valuations, the low likelihood that technology can continue to deliver well above market returns and an expected slowdown in economic growth, risk management has guided our recent positioning activity. We have been consistently trimming from the select bucket and redeploying into undervalued stable and cyclical names, while also being cognizant of position sizing to maintain the latitude to add to names when prices become attractive.
During the first quarter, we continued to trim IT stocks into strength to manage risk while also adding to high-conviction positions. For example, we trimmed our active weight in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) after the information security software maker lowered its guidance in part due to a new emphasis on providing short-term discounts on product bundles to pursue its consolidation opportunity more aggressively. While this strategy should position the company more strongly in the future, it potentially increases volatility in operating results in the near-to-medium term.”
