Palo Alto Networks (PANW 3.56%) stock is making gains in Tuesday’s trading thanks to a pair of bullish reports from analyts. The cybersecurity company’s share price was up 3.8% as of 2 p.m. ET. The gains come amid a 0.8% increase for the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.77%) and a 0.7% rise for the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.58%).
Before the market opened today, Morgan Stanley published a research note on Palo Alto Networks, maintaining an overweight rating on the stock. Soon after, Scotiabank published its own analysis and reiterated an outperform rating on the company’s shares.
Palo Alto stock gains on bullish analyst coverage
In addition to reiterating its overweight rating on Palo Alto, Morgan Stanley increased its one-year price target on the stock from $223 per share to $230 per share. As of this writing, the firm’s new price target implies potential upside of roughly 25%. Morgan Stanley’s analysts think that the cybersecurity specialist stands out as a worthwhile buy thanks to relative underperformance for its stock and signs that the business is continuing to land big deals and gain market share in key categories.
Meanwhile, Scotiabank raised its one-year price target on Palo Alto from $220 per share to $225 per share — representing potential upside of approximately 22%, as of this writing. Scotiabank analyst Patrick Colville sees a favorable backdrop for U.S. software stocks this year, and he also thinks Palo Alto stock offers value as a defensive play.
What comes next for Palo Alto Networks?
With today’s gains, Palo Alto Networks stock is now up roughly 9% over the last year of trading — a performance that lags far behind the roughly 25% rally for the S&P 500 index’s level across the stretch. On the other hand, Palo Alto still has a growth-dependent valuation and is trading at approximately 58 times this year’s expected earnings.
The company’s valuation multiple could set the stage for stock volatility this year, depending on how earnings results stack up to Wall Street’s expectations. On the other hand, Palo Alto Networks continues to look like a worthwhile investment candidate for investors seeking exposure to the cybersecurity space. With the rise of attacks and defensive systems using artificial intelligence (AI), the cybersecurity industry looks poised to see continued demand tailwinds — and Palo Alto is in good position to benefit.
Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Bank Of Nova Scotia and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
