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Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) gouged rivals Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) and Check Point Software Technologies ( CHKP ) during Q1, as Fortinet ( FTNT ) and Symantec ( SYMC ) demand toppled, according to a Piper Jaffray survey of 26 resellers and distributors. Meanwhile, cybersecurity vendors Imperva ( IMPV ) and FireEye ( FEYE ) improved on Q4 demand, and CyberArk Software ( CYBR ) and Proofpoint ( PFPT ) demand remained relatively stable. Cybersecurity stocks largely fell as of midday trading on the stock market today , with IBD’s 25-company Computer Software-Security industry group down nearly 1.5%. Proofpoint and Fortinet stocks led the plunge, both down more than 4% midday Tuesday. CyberArk stock was down more than 2%, and Palo Alto Networks stock was down more than 1%. Imperva was down more than 2.5%, and FireEye fell nearly 2%. Symantec and Check Point stocks bucked the trend, trading flat and up 1%, respectively. Check Point is losing to Palo Alto Networks, according to resellers surveyed by Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Nowinski, but half of the resellers cited Cisco as the rival Palo Alto Networks beats out most frequently. “Cisco and Check Point have consistently been called out by resellers as the vendors most frequently losing to Palo Alto,” Nowinski wrote in a research report. In Q4 and Q3, Juniper Networks was also cited by 13% and 18% of resellers as losing to Palo Alto Networks. “However, this is the first quarter resellers cited Fortinet as competition to Palo Alto, suggesting Fortinet may be moving more upstream into the mid-market enterprise space,” Nowinski wrote. Only 35% of resellers sold more Palo Alto Networks products than they expected, Nowinski wrote, down from 56% in Q4. The largest distributors say Palo Alto Networks demand trends were unchanged, he added. Imperva jumped in Q1, as 20% of resellers were above plan vs. 8% in Q4. And FireEye demand improved to 31% below plan from 36% in Q4. CyberArk and Proofpoint were largely in line. But Fortinet and Symantec declined. In Q1, 31% of Fortinet resellers were below plan vs. 14% in Q4. Symantec fell to 50% below plan vs. 29% in the prior quarter. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News