Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW) shares slipped nearly 2% to $256.25 in midday trading on Wednesday ahead of the cybersecurity company’s fiscal first quarter 2024 financial results after the markets close today.
Its stock price, however, has gained nearly 6% over the past five trading sessions and some profit taking would not be surprising following its results.
Palo Alto is expected to see its 1Q adjusted earnings per share (EPS) climb 40% year over year to $1.16 on revenue that is forecast to rise 18% to $1.84 billion, according to Zacks Equity Research.
In a recent note to clients, Wedbush analysts believe PANW is seeing considerable strength with major expansions within its installed base as more enterprises move to the cloud with the PANW platform.
"We believe there is a $200 billion dollar growth opportunity in cloud security alone 'up for grabs' over the next few years for those vendors such as PANW that have the solution sets to protect critical cloud deployments from growing threats/attacks," the analysts wrote.
During 4Q, the cybersecurity giant posted better-than-expected earnings due to its focus on profitability and better cost controls.
The company spooked analysts in August when it decided to release its financial results after the close on a Friday, with general concerns being it was going to release disappointing results at a time of the week when fewer people are paying attention.
Palo Alto has surpassed analysts' forecasts for its top and bottom lines the majority of the time during its past 10 quarters.
Shares of Palo Alto Networks have gained 85% year to date.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com