Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in PANW or CSCO?

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

Is PANW or CSCO more profitable?

Cisco Systems has a net margin of 16.96% compared to Palo Alto Networks' net margin of 14.64%. Cisco Systems' return on equity of 26.08% beat Palo Alto Networks' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palo Alto Networks	14.64%	21.93%	6.07%
Cisco Systems	16.96%	26.08%	9.65%

Do analysts recommend PANW or CSCO?

Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus target price of $204.27, indicating a potential upside of 23.67%. Cisco Systems has a consensus target price of $66.63, indicating a potential upside of 16.27%. Given Palo Alto Networks' higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Palo Alto Networks is more favorable than Cisco Systems.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palo Alto Networks	3 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	28 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Cisco Systems	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, PANW or CSCO?

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
Palo Alto Networks	$8.57B	12.76	$2.58B	$1.77	93.32
Cisco Systems	$54.18B	4.21	$10.32B	$2.29	25.03

Does the media favor PANW or CSCO?

In the previous week, Palo Alto Networks had 13 more articles in the media than Cisco Systems. MarketBeat recorded 81 mentions for Palo Alto Networks and 68 mentions for Cisco Systems. Cisco Systems' average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Palo Alto Networks' score of 1.32 indicating that Cisco Systems is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Palo Alto Networks	57 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cisco Systems	60 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer PANW or CSCO?

Cisco Systems received 221 more outperform votes than Palo Alto Networks when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 78.58% of users gave Palo Alto Networks an outperform vote while only 73.04% of users gave Cisco Systems an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Palo Alto Networks	Outperform Votes 2220 78.58%	Underperform Votes 605 21.42%
Cisco Systems	Outperform Votes 2441 73.04%	Underperform Votes 901 26.96%

Which has more risk & volatility, PANW or CSCO?

Palo Alto Networks has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cisco Systems has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Palo Alto Networks and Cisco Systems tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.