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Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) shares are trading up more than 9% in pre-open hours following the company’s reported Q2 results, with EPS of $1.05 coming in better than the consensus estimate of $0.78. Total revenue grew 26% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65B.
Q2 billings were up 26% year-over-year to $2B. The remaining performance obligation increased 39% year-over-year to $8.8B.
“The performance of our software-based and cloud-delivered portfolio validates the significant investments we have made over the last several years and has enabled us to raise our billings and NGS ARR guidance,” said Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks.
For Q3/23, the company expects EPS in the range of $0.90-$0.94, compared to the consensus of $0.78, and revenue in the range of $1.695-1.725B, compared to the consensus of $1.74B. Total billings are expected in the range of $2.20-$2.25B, representing year-over-year growth of 22%-25%.
Full-year EPS is expected in the range of $3.97-$4.03, compared to the consensus of $3.42, and revenue in the range of $6.85-6.91B, compared to the consensus of $6.89B. The company expects total billings in the range of $9.10-$9.20B, representing year-over-year growth of 22%-23%.
Mizuho analysts reiterated a Top Pick designation on PANW stock and hiked the price target to $235 after the company executed impressively once again.
“We remain bullish on PANW’s improving mix shift toward higher-growth recurring revenue, and we reiterate our view that the co. clearly possesses the strongest array of cloud assets among traditional network security vendors. PANW remains a top pick,” they wrote.
Goldman Sachs analysts said the results were “strong” and “illustrate the breadth of its platform.”
“We continue to recommend the stock: We believe Palo Alto Networks is furthest along in the industry with executing a multi-platform strategy with technology leadership across several product vectors, with top quartile software KPIs, GAAP profitability this year, and active capital allocation,” they said in a note.
