The company has beaten analysts’ sales estimates in all but four quarters since its initial public offering in late 2012 and has beaten adjusted EPS estimates in every quarter but one over the same period. Annual sales rose nearly 30% last year and are tapped to rise by 25% this year. The company completed a 3-for-1 stock split in mid-September.
Analysts remain strongly bullish on the stock, with 38 of 43 brokerages having a Buy or Strong Buy rating. At a share price of around $162.40, the stock’s upside potential based on a median price target of $217.00 is 33.6%. At the high price target of $274.00, the upside potential is 68.7%.
For its first quarter of fiscal 2023, Palo Alto Networks is expected to report revenue of $1.55 billion, flat sequentially and up 24% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.69, down 13.5% sequentially but 25.5% higher year over year. For the full fiscal year ending in July, analysts are looking for EPS of $3.17, up 25.9%, and revenue of $6.85 billion, up 24.6%.
Palo Alto Networks stock trades at 51.2 times expected 2023 EPS, 42.8 times estimated 2024 earnings of $3.79 and 36.2 times estimated 2025 earnings of $4.49 per share. The stock’s split-adjusted 52-week range is $140.07 to $213.36, and Palo Alto Networks does not pay a dividend. Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was negative 7.2%.
Ross Stores
Off-price apparel retailer Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) has suffered a share price decline of more than 14% over the past 12 months. Shares got a bounce this month, however, rising by more than 14% from a 52-week low posted just seven trading days ago.
Since the pandemic trough in the first quarter of 2020, revenue and EPS have beaten the consensus estimate in seven of 10 quarters. Ross is one of the retailers bucking the trend away from brick-and-mortar stores, having opened 99 new stores so far this year, 40 of those in the past two months alone. Other off-price stores, like Nordstrom Rack and Dollar General, are also opening more physical locations.
Analysts are mostly bullish on the stock, with 13 of 22 having ratings of Buy or Strong Buy and the rest rating the shares at Hold. At a price of around $97.80 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $99.05 is 1.3%. At the high price target of $119.00, the upside potential is 21.7%.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2023, analysts expect Ross to report revenue of $4.37 billion, down 4.7% sequentially and by about 4.4% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.81, down 27.1% sequentially and 25.7% lower year over year. For the full fiscal year ending in January, analysts are forecasting EPS of $4.02, down 17.5%, on sales of $18.22 billion, down 3.7%.
Ross stock trades at 24.3 times expected 2023 EPS, 20.6 times estimated 2024 earnings of $4.76 and 17.7 times estimated 2025 earnings of $5.54 per share. The 52-week range is $69.24 to $123.36. The company pays an annual dividend of $1.24 (yield of 1.27%). Total shareholder return for the past year was negative 13.8%.
Originally published at 24/7 Wall St.
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