With the Nasdaq nearly doubling in value over the last five years, investors know tech stocks are some of the hottest equities on the market. That’s why we’re going to show you one of the best tech stocks to buy today.
This company operates in the booming cybersecurity sector, which is worth $153 billion today – could be worth $248 billion in just four years according to MarketsandMarkets.
With the world more connected than ever, it’s crucial for individuals and businesses to protect their data from hackers, breaches, or even costly downtime.
Just consider some of the biggest headlines over the last year.
In 2017, a major ransomware attack called WannaCry was all over the news, as was the massive Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) data breach that put 145 million accounts at risk.
But the companies able to protect data and stop cyber theft are booming thanks to these risks. Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) shares gained 43% between Jan. 1 and Sept. 19, 2017, as cybersecurity dominated the headlines.
It’s no wonder that cybersecurity is such a large and fast-growing sector.
Today we’ll show you how to evaluate companies in this lucrative sector, including one of the top cybersecurity companies you can buy.
And it isn’t just a great cyber stock, it’s one of the best tech stocks you can buy.
Plus, we’ll reveal our exact price target for this cyber stock…
Why This Is One of the Best Tech Stocks to Buy Today
Money Morning Defense and Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson says Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW) is the best way to invest in the booming cyber market.
First, Palo Alto has an excellent leadership team.
This is the first catalyst for Palo Alto since a highly experienced tech leader, Nikesh Arora, came on board as CEO in June.
Arora was previously the SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC: SFTBY) chief operating officer, which holds one of the top venture capital funds in the world. The fund generated $60 billion through an investment in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA).
Arora keeps a venture capital focus at Palo Alto, with four of the firm’s ten outside directors being VCs.
The new CEO also knows how to quickly grow an organization. Prior to SoftBank, Arora spent a decade working for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), serving as the company’s chief business officer.
Second, Palo Alto has solid financials.
Some tech companies are driven by media hype thanks to soaring prices in the industry. Learning to ignore the hype and focus on business success is a good rule of thumb.
We prefer cyber stocks that are backed by solid fundamentals, which are companies that are going to produce gains over the long term and not just rise as speculators jump into the industry.
Some ways to measure this are return on equity (ROE) and profit margins, which provide a picture to shareholders of how well a firm is performing during a particular period.
Palo Alto Networks has a 43% ROE and 22% profit margin.
In comparison, Alphabet’s market cap is 41 times larger than Palo Alto’s, but its ROE is weaker at 17.3%. Its profit margin is higher, but not by much, at only 26%. That’s good company to keep.
Third, Palo Alto’s business is booming.
Companies with higher growth rates are generally the ones that are going to deliver the strongest returns to investors.
Palo Alto also excels in this area. In the most recent quarter, the company boosted its sales by 29%, meaning its growth is outdoing the overall economy by nearly sevenfold.
The average over three years is even better at a 33% growth rate, meaning the company is going to double its sales about every two years. It currently has 54,000 customers and is going to see its market soar by 26% through 2020 at a value of $5 billion.
Fourth, we expect its share price to skyrocket. Here’s exactly where Michael projects shares of Palo Alto will trade for over the next two years…
Michael predicts it is going to double in value in just over two years.
Michael has thoroughly reviewed Palo Alto’s financials and expects an average 30% growth in EPS over the next three years. This is conservative, considering EPS growth averaged 61% over the past three years.
Based on that projection, Palo Alto’s share price should double in 2.4 years.
The company’s stock is currently trading at $215, but don’t expect that shares will be this affordable for long.
Source: Money Morning