Shares of Palo Alto Networks rose on Tuesday after Wall Street analysts said it’s time to consider buying the stock after its latest pullback. The News In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley said it has an “increasingly attractive entry point” in Palo Alto shares after a weak start to 2025. The analysts, who raised their price target to $230 from $223, predicted that the share price could double in the next four to five years. The catalysts they cited include larger deals and more market share gains. “Given tighter overall [client IT] budgets and a highly fragmented security landscape, the desire for vendor consolidation is at an all-time high,” wrote Morgan Stanley. “PANW remains the primary beneficiary of consolidation with a broader platform covering multiple security pillars.” Analysts said , “As PANW soon becomes the first pure security company to reach $10 billion in annual revenue, a key investor concern is whether the company can continue to grow organically at a higher rate [the] the overall market on a much larger revenue base. We have a more positive outlook and see a long earnings run for the stock leading to 15%+ growth, resulting in earnings, [free cash flow] and the stock will double by 30.” Shares of Palo Alto Networks jumped 3.6% to just over $183 each after Tuesday’s call from Morgan Stanley. While it has rallied since last week, shares have gained just 0.7% year-to-date vs. S Advances 2.8% of the & P 500 in 2025. While it has fallen more than 9% since its high close of $202.95 on Dec. 6, Palo Alto stock has crushed it in recent years — gaining 23% last year and more than doubling in 2023. PANW Networks 5Y Mountain Palo Alto 5 Years Photo Demand for cybersecurity offerings has never been higher Every day, it seems like there’s a headline about a high-profile hack or virtual breach of some of the biggest In the US, the computer systems of American Water Works, the nation’s largest water company, revealed late last year that it had been affected by a cyberattack in 2024. The change is a unit of UnitedHealth. Although unfortunate, the elevated threat environment bodes well for sales for Palo Alto and cyber peer CrowdStrike. Both are club property. Conclusion Unlike Morgan Stanley, the Club is not recommending that members buy more shares of Palo Alto Networks at these levels. In fact, we decided to sell some on January 8 after analysts at Guggenheim, BTIG and Deutsche Bank each downgraded the stock. Even though Palo Alto Networks seems to have fallen out of favor with some on Wall Street, that doesn’t mean we’ve lost faith. Growing demand for cyber defense, coupled with Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora’s exceptional leadership record, means we’re invested. To be sure, CrowdStrike is the best cyber game right now. Despite last year’s software update glitch that caused a global information technology meltdown, CrowdStrike stock was able to quickly recover. Jim Cramer described CrowdStrike as “the one you want to own.” He added, “CrowdStrike is the one getting a free pass this year. Everybody thinks they played defense. I think they’re going to talk about playing offense.” (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long PANW, CRWD. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you’ll receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a share in his charitable trust portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after the trade alert is issued before executing the trade. INFORMATION ON MESIPERM INVESTMENT CLUB IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, INCLUDING OUR STATEMENT. NO OBLIGATION OR FIDUCIARY DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH INVESTOR CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULTS OR PROFITS ARE GUARANTEED.
In this photo illustration, the Palo Alto Networks logo is seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background.
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Palo Alto Networks The stock rose on Tuesday after Wall Street analysts said it’s time to consider buying the stock after its latest pullback.Â
