Palo Alto Networks look-ahead: Watching the guidance
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Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings on Friday after market close, with investors closely watching after smaller rival Fortinet (FTNT) slashed its full-year guidance. 
Analysts expect enterprise customers to cut back on spending, amid higher budget scrutiny in a turbulent economy. 
Wall Street analysts expect Palo Alto to post earnings per share of $1.29 on revenues of $1.96 billion, which would mark a jump of nearly 27%. 
On August 2, the cybersecurity giant said that in addition to reporting its Q4 results, it will also provide medium-term financial targets through fiscal year 2026.
Wedbush noted that the company's stock has fallen ~20% since the earnings call announcement. According to the brokerage's analysis, there is a slight risk for both Q4 revenues and billings to miss expectations. The analysis also demonstrated that there is a reasonable risk for 2024 billings and FCF guidance to be below current estimates.
Shares of the Palo Alto Networks have jumped over 51% YTD. 
Seeking Alpha contributor Cavenagh Research said, "There is a possibility that Palo Alto may cut its financial targets, similar to what Fortinet recently did, due to economic uncertainty and increasing competitive threats." 
Palo Alto has seen substantial upward revisions to its estimates over the last three months. Earnings per share forecasts have been revised upwards 35 times, while revenue estimates have been revised up 25 time vs. 6 downward revisions. 
Seeking Alpha analysts at large consider Palo Alto Networks a Hold. This compares with average Wall Street rating of Strong Buy and SA Quant rating of Hold. 

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