Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected earnings for the fiscal second quarter, and also announced a stock buyback program - leading to its shares jumping +11% in after-hours trading Tuesday.
The cybersecurity company raked in adjusted earnings of $1.51 per share in the three months ending January, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.22 per share (based on Refinitiv data). Quarterly revenue of $711.2 million came in higher compared to analysts’ expected $682 million ((based on Refinitiv data). That marks a +30% year-over-year surge in revenue for the quarter. Product revenues, grew +33% to $271.6 million, while those from services increased +29% to $439.6 million.
Palo Alto also announced that its board authorized up to $1 billion in share repurchases, and introduced its Cortex AI-based security platform.
The company is apparently gung-ho in bolstering its cloud solutions and cyber security business. Last week, it announced its $560 million acquisition of Demisto, a startup specializing in security orchestration, incident management and interactive investigation.
For the fiscal third quarter, Palo Alto projects adjusted earnings in the range of $1.23 to $1.25 per share. It expects revenue to be in the range of $697 million to $707 million for the quarter - that puts the midpoint at $702 million, which is higher than the $696.7 million FactSet estimate.
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
PANW moved above its 50-day moving average on September 14, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend. In 38 of 48 similar past instances, the stock price increased further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 79%.
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on September 16, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on PANW as a result. In 59 of 78 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 76%.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for PANW just turned positive on September 15, 2026. Looking at past instances where PANW's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 31 of 45 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 69%.
The 10-day moving average for PANW crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on September 18, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In 12 of 16 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 75%.
Following a +2.65% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where PANW advanced for three days, in 272 of 354 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 77%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 202 of 277 cases where PANW Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 73%.
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 13 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where PANW declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 68%.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 2 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 4 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 91, placing this stock better than average.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 9 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating outstanding price growth. PANW’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 89 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating weak sales and an unprofitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 99 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is significantly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (11.669) is normal, around the industry mean (18.522). PANW has a moderately high P/E Ratio (980.225) as compared to the industry average of (158.311). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (2.002) is also within normal values, averaging (3.648). Dividend Yield (0.000) settles around the average of (0.004) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (25.000) is also within normal values, averaging (104.490).
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
a provider of network security solutions
Industry ComputerCommunications