Wunderlich: Bullish on $PANW Into Earnings

This is the most important stock in the bedraggled cyber security sector, an industry that exhibited extraordinary promise just a few years ago. Since their euphoric highs, they’ve been bombarded with one earnings shortfall after the next, with exception to Palo Alto Networks. They are the proverbial last man standing.

Wunderlich is boolish into the meatgrinder.

Via Briefing.com

Wunderlich is at Hold, $190 tgt on PANW ahead of the results as they expect co to report upside to consensus rev and EPS ests. They also expect co will maintain its prior FY16 guidance. This would represent an improvement when compared to the rest of the cyber-security comp group, which has largely guided toward heavier-than-expected investment for FY16. Checks indicate a strong close to 2Q should allow co to top consensus Rev/EPS ests of $318M/$0.39 coming in closer to $335M/$0.42. They also expect co will pass through the upside to its prior full-year guidance at the mid-point of $1.78B/$2.70.
PANW is scheduled to report Q2 results Feb. 25, after the close

PANW is down 27% for the year, thus far.