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 stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Which has higher earnings & 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	$54.18B	4.66	$10.32B	$2.29	27.72
Palo Alto Networks	$8.57B	14.19	$2.58B	$1.77	103.77

Is CSCO or PANW 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
Cisco Systems	16.96%	26.08%	9.65%
Palo Alto Networks	14.64%	21.93%	6.07%

Which has more volatility and risk, CSCO or PANW?

Cisco Systems has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Palo Alto Networks has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate CSCO or PANW?

Cisco Systems presently has a consensus price target of $66.63, suggesting a potential upside of 4.96%. Palo Alto Networks has a consensus price target of $205.06, suggesting a potential upside of 11.64%. Given Palo Alto Networks' higher probable upside, analysts plainly 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)	7 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78
Palo Alto Networks	3 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	28 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64

Do insiders and institutionals believe in CSCO or PANW?

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

Does the media prefer CSCO or PANW?

In the previous week, Palo Alto Networks had 20 more articles in the media than Cisco Systems. MarketBeat recorded 96 mentions for Palo Alto Networks and 76 mentions for Cisco Systems. Palo Alto Networks' average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat Cisco Systems' score of 1.25 indicating that Palo Alto Networks is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cisco Systems	60 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Palo Alto Networks	81 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in CSCO or PANW?

Cisco Systems received 224 more outperform votes than Palo Alto Networks when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 78.60% of users gave Palo Alto Networks an outperform vote while only 73.09% of users gave Cisco Systems an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Cisco Systems	Outperform Votes 2439 73.09%	Underperform Votes 898 26.91%
Palo Alto Networks	Outperform Votes 2215 78.60%	Underperform Votes 603 21.40%

Summary

Palo Alto Networks beats Cisco Systems on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.