What happened
The prospects for tech infrastructure stocks continue to improve, according to a new analysis. One beneficiary of this current take on the industry is Palo Alto Networks (PANW -2.48%). While many stocks tumbled on Tuesday, Palo Alto Networks was one of the few and the brave to land in positive territory. It inched 0.3% higher on the day, as the benchmark S&P 500 index went in the opposite direction with a 0.2% dip.
So what
Morgan Stanley prognosticator Meta Marshall was the person behind the analysis. In a new research paper published on Tuesday, she tagged Palo Alto Networks and its peers Nutanix, Pure Storage, and F5 Networks as the titles best poised to benefit from increased tech infrastructure spending.
In Marshall's view, companies are moving toward a future in which they will regularly utilize a hybrid model -- i.e., a mix of on-site computing infrastructure and cloud-based solutions. One critical solution for any enterprise is cybersecurity, which is where Palo Alto Networks comes in.
Despite the analyst's positive evaluation of the company, she did caution that it faces certain risks. She wrote about executive turnover potentially resulting in some sales disruption, and slower client upgrading of security solutions.
Now what
Yet the Morgan Stanley research team still thinks there's more upside than downside packed into Palo Alto Networks stock.
On Monday, Marshall's colleague Hamza Fodderwala wrote in an update that talks with a number of customers and channel partners indicated "healthy" demand for IT security in the second half of 2022. And while spending on security solutions should outpace that of broader IT needs, this is consolidating into a smaller group of suppliers such as Palo Alto Networks.
