Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Competitors

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, community ranking, valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Do analysts prefer CSCO or PANW?

Cisco Systems currently has a consensus target price of $60.28, suggesting a potential upside of 3.00%. Palo Alto Networks has a consensus target price of $201.40, suggesting a potential upside of 7.83%. Given Palo Alto Networks' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Palo Alto Networks is more favorable than Cisco Systems.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cisco Systems	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Palo Alto Networks	2 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	31 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.72

Which has better earnings and valuation, CSCO or PANW?

Cisco Systems has higher revenue and earnings than Palo Alto Networks. Cisco Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Palo Alto Networks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cisco Systems	$52.98B	4.40	$10.32B	$2.33	25.12
Palo Alto Networks	$8.29B	14.79	$2.58B	$3.84	48.64

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of CSCO or PANW?

73.3% of Cisco Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Palo Alto Networks shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Cisco Systems shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Palo Alto Networks shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is CSCO or PANW more profitable?

Palo Alto Networks has a net margin of 32.99% compared to Cisco Systems' net margin of 17.73%. Cisco Systems' return on equity of 25.70% beat Palo Alto Networks' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cisco Systems	17.73%	25.70%	9.95%
Palo Alto Networks	32.99%	23.36%	6.07%

Does the media favor CSCO or PANW?

In the previous week, Palo Alto Networks had 37 more articles in the media than Cisco Systems. MarketBeat recorded 47 mentions for Palo Alto Networks and 10 mentions for Cisco Systems. Cisco Systems' average media sentiment score of 0.78 beat Palo Alto Networks' score of 0.64 indicating that Cisco Systems is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cisco Systems	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Palo Alto Networks	14 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, CSCO or PANW?

Cisco Systems has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Palo Alto Networks has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in CSCO or PANW?

Cisco Systems received 226 more outperform votes than Palo Alto Networks when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 78.70% of users gave Palo Alto Networks an outperform vote while only 73.11% of users gave Cisco Systems an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Cisco Systems	Outperform Votes 2428 73.11%	Underperform Votes 893 26.89%
Palo Alto Networks	Outperform Votes 2202 78.70%	Underperform Votes 596 21.30%

Summary

Palo Alto Networks beats Cisco Systems on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.