Shares of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) sank in after-hours trading after the company reported earnings for its second quarter of Fiscal Year 2024. Earnings per share came in at $1.46, which beat analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.30 per share.
Sales increased by 19.3% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $1.98 billion. This beat analysts’ expectations by $10 million.
Looking forward, management now expects revenue and adjusted earnings per share for Q3 2024 to be in the ranges of $1.95 billion to $1.98 billion and $1.24 to $1.26, respectively. For reference, analysts were expecting $2.04 billion in revenue along with an adjusted EPS of $1.30.
For Fiscal Year 2024, revenue is expected to land between $7.95 billion and $8 billion compared to estimates of $8.19 billion. Furthermore, the firm anticipates earnings per share of $5.45 to $5.55 versus expectations of $5.51 per share.
What Is the Price Target for PANW?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on PANW stock based on 26 Buys, three Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 119% rally in its share price over the past year, the average PANW price target of $391.82 per share implies 7% upside potential from today’s closing price. However, it’s worth noting that estimates will change following today’s earnings report.
