Stephens analyst Jonathan Ruykhaver said the majority of the firm's checks with partners of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) indicate that the company's Q4 sales activity was "slightly ahead of plan," on average, which he thinks will lead its results to outperform consensus expectations. The sources discussed several large wins against Cisco (CSCO) and Check Point (CHKP), noted Ruykhaver, who added that contacts talked about two "very large deals" for the company's newer Traps product. The analyst reiterates an Overweight rating and $180 price target ahead of Palo Alto's quarterly report, which is due tomorrow. Note that Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Nowinski also said in a note to investors this morning that his firm's recent channel checks indicate Palo Alto should exceed the high end of its guidance when reporting earnings tomorrow.

Morgan Stanley analyst Hamza Fodderwala tells investors that recent checks indicate "solid" large deal activity and "favorable" competitive positioning for Palo Alto Networks, making the firm "incrementally bullish" ahead of next week's AI event scheduled for May 7 at RSA conference, at which the company is likely to announce new products. The firm has an Overweight rating and $360 price target on Palo Alto shares.