Analyst Meta Marshall of Morgan Stanley maintained a Buy rating on Palo Alto Networks, retaining the price target of $223.00.
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Meta Marshall has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors linked to Palo Alto Networks’ positioning in AI-driven cybersecurity and the strength of its platform model. He argues that as AI expands the attack surface and raises accuracy requirements, PANW’s predominantly run‑time security, broad AI portfolio, and early traction with offerings like Prisma AIRS and AI Gateway leave it better placed than token‑based or LLM‑only security approaches.
Marshall also highlights that recent concerns about AI‑native entrants underestimate how much enterprise security demands 99.9%+ accuracy, real‑time defense, and predictable economics—areas where PANW already generates roughly 85–90% of revenue and is still adding capabilities. With incremental support from recent acquisitions and the stock trading at about 18x EV/2027E FCF, he sees the current pullback as an attractive entry point ahead of expected product and adoption catalysts in the second half of the calendar year and into FY27.
According to TipRanks, Marshall is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 2.6% and a 51.24% success rate. Marshall covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Lumentum Holdings, CrowdStrike Holdings, and Corning.
In another report released today, Barclays also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $200.00 price target.