{"id":198234,"date":"2026-03-22T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/22\/is-palo-alto-networks-stock-a-buy-now\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T12:15:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T16:15:15","slug":"is-palo-alto-networks-stock-a-buy-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/22\/is-palo-alto-networks-stock-a-buy-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Palo Alto Networks Stock a Buy Now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is Palo Alto Networks Stock a Buy Now?<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fool.com\/investing\/2026\/03\/22\/is-palo-alto-networks-stock-a-buy-now\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-22 12:05:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.fool.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. With geopolitical tensions rising and war in Iran, cybersecurity has become more important in recent months for governments, companies, and organizations. That may be why there has been a surge of interest among investors in cybersecurity stocks.
\nPalo Alto Networks (PANW 4.00%) is one of the leading enterprise cybersecurity firms, focusing on providing cybersecurity for large companies and governments across their entire enterprises.
\nSince Feb. 24, just before the conflict in Iran started, it is no coincidence that Palo Alto Networks stock has surged some 17% over a period when the overall market has sputtered. That’s because this war is heightening the potential for cyberattacks, spurring companies and organizations to protect themselves.
\nIs this a good time for investors to buy Palo Alto Networks stock?<\/p>\n

Image source: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Increase in cyberattacks due to war
\nThe war in Iran has led to an increase in cyberattacks, according to Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42, its elite cybersecurity team.
\nAnd earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that focuses on improving cybersecurity and combatting cybercrime. The order calls for\u00a0more scrutiny of organizations’ and companies’ cybersecurity efforts and could ultimately create the need for better systems and more spending on cybersecurity.
\nThese factors should help fuel Palo Alto Networks’ already robust growth. In its latest fiscal quarter (ended Jan. 31, 2026), it grew revenue 15% year over year with annual recurring revenue (ARR) rising 33%. Further, adjusted earnings per share rose 27%.
\nToday’s Change(-4.00%) $-6.79Current Price$162.95Key Data PointsMarket Cap$133BDay’s Range$161.89 – $169.1952wk Range$139.57 – $223.61Volume16MAvg Vol9.9MGross Margin73.50%
\nFor the current quarter, the company projects ARR to grow 56% year over year and revenue to surge by 28% to 29%. In addition, it calls for remaining performance obligations, or contracts in the pipeline, to surge 23%. Projected growth rates for the full fiscal year are similarly strong.
\nThis outlook was posted on Feb. 17, so it was before the conflict in Iran and the Trump executive order. It will be very interesting to see if those projections move higher when the company reports its fiscal third-quarter earnings on May 19.
\nIs Palo Alto Networks stock a buy?
\nPalo Alto Networks is the largest pure-play cybersecurity firm in the world and has been around the longest. It is widely considered the most trusted name in cyberdefense.
\nIt already had a robust pipeline and strong growth prospects leading up to the conflict in Iran. I think the growth rates could go even higher, given the current environment and the federal focus on cybersecurity, combined with Palo Alto’s status and reputation.
\nThe one concern is its valuation, which has come down but is still very high. The stock is trading at 93 times earnings and 45 times forward earnings. That is worth watching, particularly after this recent surge. While the stock is a great long-term buy, I’m not entirely sure it’s a great buy right now after a 17% jump in share price. It might be wise to wait for a better entry point.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is Palo Alto Networks Stock a Buy Now? https:\/\/www.fool.com\/investing\/2026\/03\/22\/is-palo-alto-networks-stock-a-buy-now\/ Publish Date: 2026-03-22 12:05:00 Source Domain:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/g.foolcdn.com\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F860704%2Fgettyimages-1485822404.jpg&w=1200&op=resize","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-198234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198236,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198234\/revisions\/198236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}