Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW)

[chmcnfunds]

Palo Alto Gets Great Marks, FireEye Deteriorates, in Piper Survey

December 21, 2016, 10:51 A.M. ET

By Tiernan Ray

Piper Jaffray’s Andrew Nowinski this morning offers up to clients a summary of a meeting he assembled last week between investors and security technology consultants and resellers, the substance of which was encouraging for vendors Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Symantec (SYMC), and Proofpoint (PFPT), but discouraging for FireEye (FEYE)

On Palo Alto, especially, he’s encouraged by the outlook for ’17:

Resellers of Palo Alto were very bullish on the outlook for 2017, as they said deals were pushed out to 2017 due to a lack of operating expense budget needed for the subscription components of deals. We note that Palo Alto has taken over the #1 market share position as of 3Q16 and the stock is trading at the cheapest valuation in the entire security universe (9.1x EV/CY18E FCF).

Nowinski notes data from researcher IDC that shows “Palo Alto has taken over the #1 position in the security market with 17.1% share.”

Symantec was another one with good feedback:

Resellers were also very positive on Symantec, stating they are impressed with the changes the new management team has made. Resellers said Symantec has done a great job rationalizing their portfolio and cited the new SEP14, which is Symantec’s new endpoint product that was launched in November. They also said the Proxy market is robust, with strong demand for Blue Coat.

So was Proofpoint:

The feedback from resellers at the event on Proofpoint was also positive. Resellers said demand for Proofpoint is “white hot,” which we believe is a combination of a lack of competition and the increasing prioritization for email security.

One that’s not getting such great feedback is FireEye:

Resellers said demand for FireEye has gotten worse and they are no longer leading with FireEye products for advanced threat protection. Most believe advanced threat protection is just a feature on a larger platform, though we would argue that FireEye has assembled a larger platform of integrated products. The company now has virtual/subscription-based versions of their products, including their flagship NX-series. We believe the new head of sales Bill Robbins has a lot of work ahead of him re-engaging key channel partners.
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http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2016/12/21/palo-alto-gets-great-marks-fireeye-deteriorates-in-piper-survey/

Still in but the last 2 days haven't been great. A chance to buy more.

PANW