Palo Alto Networks has reassured analysts with its latest earnings report after a brief panic over its unusual timing. Its longer term growth guidance was boosting other stocks in the cybersecurity sector on Monday.
Palo Alto’s shares were up 11% in premarket trading on Monday to $233.20. The stock had fallen about 18% in the run-up to Friday’s report following the announcement of the timing of the release and earnings call.Palo Alto late-Friday report didn’t bring the bad news that was feared, as the security-software company topped analysts’ estimates. However, Wall Street analysts are focusing on its guidance for further in the future.
The positive outlook is a relief for the cybersecurity sector as stocks including Palto Alto, CrowdStrike and Zscaler have recently reacted sharply to any signs of a potential hit to business from macroeconomic uncertainty. Analysts at Evercore noted that Palo Alto’s momentum in large deals was healthy, with the number of sales worth more than $20 million up 42% from the same period the prior year.
Evercore’s Peter Levine raised his target price on the stock to $295 from $240 previously and kept an Overweight rating on the stock.