Kirby McInerney LLP alerts investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of individuals who acquired securities of Palo Alto Networks (“Palo Alto” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:PANW) during the period of August 18, 2023, through February 20, 2024, inclusive (referred to as “the Class Period”). Investors have until April 26, 2024, to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
[Learn more about the class action here]
On February 20, 2024, Palo Alto announced its financial results for Q2 2024 and revised its full-year revenue and guidance for Q3 downwards. Specifically, Palo Alto projected earnings per share to range from $1.24 to $1.26 and revenue guidance of $1.95 billion to $1.98 billion, below analysts’ estimates. During an earnings call on the same day, the Company explained that “our guidance is a consequence of us driving a shift in our strategy in wanting to accelerate both our platformization and consolidation and activating our AI leadership.” Palo Alto also disclosed that federal government deals for several large projects did not close, resulting in “a significant shortfall in our U.S. federal government business” expected to continue into the third and fourth quarters of 2024. Subsequently, the price of Palo Alto shares dropped by $104.12 per share, approximately 28.4%, from $366.09 per share on February 20, 2024, to close at $261.97 on February 21, 2024.
The lawsuit alleges that (i) The Company’s consolidation and platformization initiatives did not significantly increase market share; (ii) the Company would need to increase platformization and offer free products to attract more customers to its platforms; (iii) the Company’s high growth in billings was unsustainable; (iv) new AI offerings did not drive increased platformization and consolidation; and (v) Palo Alto lacked a reasonable basis for its positive statements about customer demand, billings, platformization, and related financial results, growth, and prospects.
If you bought or otherwise acquired Palo Alto securities, possess information, or want to learn more about this investigation, please contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney LLP via email at [email protected], or by completing this CONTACT FORM, to discuss your rights or interests regarding these matters at no cost to you.
Kirby McInerney LLP is a New York-based plaintiffs’ law firm focusing on securities, antitrust, whistleblower, and consumer litigation. The firm’s efforts in securities litigation on behalf of shareholders have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars. More information about the firm can be found at the Kirby McInerney LLP website.
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