--> PANW is flirting with all time highs near the $80 level; now +14% just below the $79 level in the premarket.
Palo Alto Networks: Color on Quarter (69.51)
- Oppenheimer upgrades PANW to Outperform from Perform and lowers their tgt to $80 from $85 based on: The settlement of its longstanding IP litigation with Juniper for $175 mln represents a significant risk removal and is viewed as a positive outcome considering prior draconian scenarios; Solid quarterly results and guidance supporting continued healthy double digit growth rates; and Potential margin expansion as the model continues to scale.
-
Needham raises their PANW tgt to $95 from $87. F3Q results were strong, and the revenue beat was accompanied by a very strong billings performance of +46% y/y. A number of datapoints from the call support firm's thesis that PANW is increasingly viewed as a "platform" in next-gen security and is getting invited to larger deals; Buy.
- Topeka reiterates their Buy rating and $98 tgt following two important developments: 1) 3QF14 results that surpassed consensus/guidance while also guiding 4Q (at the mid-point) above consensus and; 2) the settlement of the 3-year patent suit with Juniper (JNPR) that sees PANW making (in their opinion) a modest cash/stock payment of $175mm plus $30mm in warrants. Most likely, investors will react more favorably to the legal settlement than the better-than-expected 3Q results or 4Q guidance.
- FBR Capital believes the combination of solid F3Q results/F4Q guidance and the removal of the litigation overhang represents a strong "one-two punch" that should unlock more shareholder value over the coming quarters as investors become more comfortable with the co's improved risk profile. Palo Alto clearly continues to fire on all cylinders despite intense competition from other vendors in the network security market, and they expect it to benefit from the rapidly growing next-generation firewall (NGFW) market with the Juniper litigation now in the rearview mirror; $90 tgt.