Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Competitors

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

Does the media favor CRWD or PANW?

In the previous week, CrowdStrike had 2 more articles in the media than Palo Alto Networks. MarketBeat recorded 72 mentions for CrowdStrike and 70 mentions for Palo Alto Networks. Palo Alto Networks' average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat CrowdStrike's score of 1.15 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
CrowdStrike	46 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Palo Alto Networks	39 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer CRWD or PANW?

CrowdStrike presently has a consensus price target of $333.82, suggesting a potential downside of 4.66%. Palo Alto Networks has a consensus price target of $391.92, suggesting a potential downside of 0.25%. Given Palo Alto Networks' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Palo Alto Networks is more favorable than CrowdStrike.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CrowdStrike	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	31 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Palo Alto Networks	1 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	29 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74

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

71.2% of CrowdStrike shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Palo Alto Networks shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of CrowdStrike shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Palo Alto Networks shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer CRWD or PANW?

Palo Alto Networks received 1656 more outperform votes than CrowdStrike when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 78.74% of users gave Palo Alto Networks an outperform vote while only 69.70% of users gave CrowdStrike an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
CrowdStrike	Outperform Votes 529 69.70%	Underperform Votes 230 30.30%
Palo Alto Networks	Outperform Votes 2185 78.74%	Underperform Votes 590 21.26%

Which has better earnings and valuation, CRWD or PANW?

Palo Alto Networks has higher revenue and earnings than CrowdStrike. Palo Alto Networks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CrowdStrike, 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
CrowdStrike	$3.06B	28.09	$89.33M	$0.69	507.46
Palo Alto Networks	$8.03B	15.94	$2.58B	$7.25	54.19

Which has more volatility and risk, CRWD or PANW?

CrowdStrike has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Palo Alto Networks has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CRWD or PANW more profitable?

Palo Alto Networks has a net margin of 32.11% compared to CrowdStrike's net margin of 4.84%. Palo Alto Networks' return on equity of 26.83% beat CrowdStrike's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CrowdStrike	4.84%	8.44%	3.14%
Palo Alto Networks	32.11%	26.83%	6.11%

Summary

Palo Alto Networks beats CrowdStrike on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.