Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

[iam802]

Less news on PANW than KYAK.

I suspect it is more difficult to write on technology than travel


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Palo Alto Raises $260.4 Million, Pricing IPO Above Range

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/201 ... range.html

Palo Alto Networks Inc. and Kayak Software Corp. (KYAK) raised a combined $351.4 million, pricing their initial public offerings above the proposed ranges and tapping renewed investor demand for technology shares.

Palo Alto, a maker of Internet firewalls, raised $260.4 million selling 6.2 million shares at $42 apiece, it said in a statement today, after offering the shares for $38 to $40. Kayak, an online travel company, raised $91 million selling 3.5 million shares at $26 apiece, a dollar more than the top end of the marketed range, according to a company statement.

Palo Alto and Kayak join Five Below Inc. (FIVE) and Durata Therapeutics Inc. in raising more than $600 million combined this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The IPOs followed a monthlong drought in the wake of Facebook (FB) Inc.’s disappointing May debut and may indicate renewed investor demand for companies that promise growth, according to Jayson Noland, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co.

“There’s an appetite for innovation and growth out there and there’s going to be a premium placed on growth, whether it’s tech or anywhere else,” said Noland by telephone. “We’ve seen a pretty steep discount on companies that are facing a secular decline.”

Palo Alto initially said it would offer the shares for $34 to $37 and raised the range this week. The stock will start trading tomorrow, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PANW.

Trading Tomorrow

Kayak, which will list under the symbol KYAK on the Nasdaq Stock Market, had planned to sell the shares at $22 to $25 apiece. The offering values Kayak at about $1 billion, based on its 38.6 million shares outstanding.

Palo Alto’s IPO price values it at about $2.8 billion, or almost 13 times sales of $220 million in the 12 months through April 30, Bloomberg data show. That’s double the average multiple of 6.4 for similar-sized peers such as Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) Larger competitor Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) trades at a multiple of 2, and Intel Corp. trades at 2.4 times.

Palo Alto’s offering follows the successful debut by ServiceNow Inc. (NOW) last month, which opened the gates for other IPOs after the flop of Facebook’s $16 billion initial share sale froze the U.S. market for more than a month.

Emerging Force

While shares of Internet companies such as Facebook, Groupon Inc. (GRPN) and Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) have declined since their IPOs in the past year, some technology firms that sell services and products to companies have fared better. In addition to ServiceNow, which sells technology-management software, Splunk Inc. (SPLK), a data-analytics company, has risen 72 percent since its IPO on April 18.

Palo Alto is an emerging force in the market for corporate anti-hacking technology. Revenue at the company, led by Chief Executive Officer Mark McLaughlin, has surged at least 57-fold since 2008 as more businesses invest to shield their networks from outside threats.

The company, founded in 2005, offered 4.69 million shares, while existing holders offered 1.5 million, according to the statement. Venture firms Greylock Partners and Sequoia Capital didn’t plan to sell shares and will own more than 41 percent of the company after the IPO, according to regulatory filings.

Over-Allotments

Palo Alto also said it has granted the underwriters a 30- day option to purchase up to an additional 930,000 shares of common stock to cover any over-allotments. Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Citigroup Inc. (C) led Palo Alto’s share offering.

The company’s sales in the three months ended April 30 were $65.7 million, more than double the $31.2 million a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net income in the nine months ended April 30 was $5.34 million, compared with a loss a year earlier, with sales for that period approaching $180 million, the company said in a filing.

The global market for enterprise network security may rise to $12.5 billion by 2015 from $10 billion this year, Palo Alto said in its filing, citing IDC.

Kayak, which first filed to go public in November 2010, is the first U.S. consumer Internet company to go public since Facebook’s IPO in May. Norwalk, Connecticut-based Kayak delayed its roadshow after Facebook shares tumbled.

Revenue at Kayak jumped 39 percent in the first quarter to $73.3 million, from $52.7 million a year earlier. The company reported net income in the period of $4.1 million, following a $6.9 million loss in the year-earlier quarter because of a writedown related to its SideStep brand.

Five Below, the teen and pre-teen retailer that sells merchandise for less than $5, raised $163.5 million pricing its IPO at the top end of the marketed range. Including an overallotment option for underwriters to buy additional shares, the company raised $188 million. Durata Therapeutics raised $67.5 million.

[winston]

4 Large-Cap Stocks Setting Up for a Drop: Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks (PANW) has also been favored by bulls this year, but the technicals suggest that may be coming to an end.

On Tuesday, PANW showed a bearish Engulfing Line pattern, suggesting that selling pressure has overwhelmed previous buying pressure.

You can see the pattern in the chart, which is made up of two candlesticks in which the black real body of the second overtakes the white real body of the first candlestick.

The same day, PANW’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) turned short-term bearish as well.

The RSI indicator compares up periods to down periods, in order to spot when the stock crosses into overbought or oversold territory.

In this case, PANW is coming down from the 70 (overbought) level, which further supports the idea that bulls are losing traction.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Blue-Chip Stocks That Need to Cool: Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

There’s no denying the world’s not really ready to fend off any and all cyberattacks. Case in point: It was less than two weeks ago that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service was hacked, with 100,000 individual tax returns being made accessible to hackers.

It was just one of many such attacks that has thrust cybersecurity name Palo Alto Networks (PANW) into the spotlight, and pushed PANW stock up more than 300% since late 2013.

There’s just one problem with stepping into PANW stock after such a big run-up, and it’s not the sheer size of the gain: Unlike most other blue-chip stocks, Palo Alto Networks isn’t net-profitable (operational, yes, but not on a GAAP basis), and isn’t expected to be anytime.

While investors have overlooked heavy capital spending thus far, the market’s patience could break in an instant.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Market Cap: $16.0 billion
YTD Return: 55%

Palo Alto Networks is reputed to own some of the best cybersecurity solutions in the industry.

PANW stock remains the most beloved of cybersecurity stocks, and has been receiving plenty of love from Wall Street analysts such as Citi, Cowen and JPMorgan.

Palo Alto has been slated to continue gaining firewall/UTM (hardware) market share at a faster clip than most of its rivals including Fortinet (FTNT), with JPMorgan recently chiming in a positive note for the company, saying it can more than triple its current 7% market share to 24% by 2024.

These projections appear achievable considering that many security resellers continue to prefer the company as a long-term strategic partner.

Palo Alto’s current price-to-sales reading of 20 is one of the highest in the sector and raises genuine overvaluation concerns. This worry is further compounded by the fact that the company, like many other players in the sector, remains unprofitable.

However, PANW stock is expected to grow earnings by a robust 50% clip this year and 51% CAGR over the next five years, giving it plenty of gas to both grow into its frothy valuation and make some good share returns as well.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

7 Tech Stocks That are Strong Buys: Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is one of the top cybersecurity companies in the market. And if there’s one sector that will grow regardless of events in Europe and China, it’s cybersecurity.

U.S. companies have understood the need for upgrading their systems but as they emerged from the financial collapse in 2008, they have used their limited resources to strengthen aspects of the business that had direct implications to the bottom line.

It hasn’t been until recently as massive data breaches have spurred consumers and consumer advocacy groups to start expecting more from the corporations that store our financial and other proprietary data.

And a recent case has corporate America paying a lot more attention. Until now, most companies couldn’t be sued by individuals for their data breaches because individuals had to prove harm.

But the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit last week against Neiman Marcus over a 2013 data breach in which hackers stole credit card information from as many as 350,000 customers.

The judge reinstated both types of claims against Neiman Marcus — those who had incurred expenses tied to the hack, and those who feared identity theft in the future.

If companies end being held liable for these hacks, you can be sure cybersecurity companies will see significantly robust growth.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

Is it time to buy tech ? by Charles Payne

The three things to look for are:

1. Beating consensus on the top and bottom line
2. Taking market share
3. Strong guidance

The best example of this is Palo Alto Networks (PANW), one of my favorite companies that made us 25% in two months the first time we owned it in Smart Investing.

We’re back in it now and already up 10% in two weeks after the company posted financial results last night that crushed.

Revenue grew 59% to $283.9 million. Earnings soared more than 150% to $0.28 a share from $0.11 the year before.

And then there was strong guidance and market share gains expressed by a telling line in the press release.

"We are very pleased with our results for both the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2015. During the year we grew our customer base to over 26,000 customers, expanded our technology partnerships and distribution relationships, enhanced our next-generation security platform with new offerings and achieved $928.1 million in revenue, an increase of 55 percent year-over-year.

We are significantly outgrowing the market and rapidly taking share," said Mark McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer of Palo Alto Networks. [emphasis added]

That’s the kind of stock you want to look for, to become a part owner of a great company and build your wealth over time.

Source: Smart Talk

[winston]

not vested

Super-High-Growth Stocks to Buy Now: Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

Last but certainly not least, put Palo Alto Networks (PANW) on a list of solid high-growth stocks to buy now.

If the name rings a bell, it may be because PANW was pegged as a buy-worthy stock just last week after the cybersecurity outfit wowed investors with its previous quarter’s year-over-year revenue growth of 59% … but, it’s a name and a growth rate that merit reiterating.

Critics and naysayers will be quick to point out that although the company is operationally profitable, it is spending heavily to buy much of that growth, and on a GAAP basis is still losing money.

The nuance those pessimists are overlooking, however, is that as of last quarter’s numbers, even the GAAP loss is starting to shrink now that Palo Alto Networks has significant scale.

It will still take a long while for the company to swing to a true profit, but it’s on that path, and the market may reward PANW for remaining on that path en route to the end zone of profitability.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is in one of the hottest sectors in tech right now: cybersecurity. Actually, it’s going to be one of the hottest sectors in tech for some time to come.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there have been approximately 670 data breaches so far this year, and the average cost of a data breach is up 23% in the past two years.

MSFT has spent $1 billion in the past year beefing up its internal security. PANW works with both big and small tech firms to keep their data secure and files uncorrupted.

This is a highly competitive space, where one day you’re on top and the next day you’re looking up to see firms taking your business. Part of staying on top is maintaining the highest level of security and the newest threat protocols, and part of it is being able to implement them rapidly for your clients.

PANW is doing a very good job, apparently. It has grown its customer base 35% in 2015.

This is a volatile sector, and stocks move on the fortunes of others as well as their own, so if you decide to take a ride on PANW don’t expect it to be tranquil.

Source: Investor Place

[winston]

not vested

Palo Alto's revenue beats Street on higher cyber security spending

Billings, defined as total revenue plus the change in deferred revenue, rose 62 percent to $459 million.

Source: Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-palo- ... nologyNews

[winston]

Stocks to Buy: Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW)

Estimated 2016 Revenue Growth: 46%
Estimated 2017 Revenue Growth: 33%

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the cybersecurity stock that Wall Street favors among the group of next-gen service providers. The company’s $1.1 billion in revenue supports a whopping $14 billion market capitalization.

The reason is because of its growth. Palo Alto is expected to grow 46% this year and 33% next year. That’s impressive, but with PANW’s next-generation firewalls being a secondary service among the majority of its customers, there is great upside for Palo Alto to further up-sell its products and services long-term.

Yes, PANW might be a little pricey, but then again, cyber crime is a serious threat, and PANW is one of the best at solving the problem.

Source: Investor Place