What happened

Shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW 0.68%) rallied 19.7% in June, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The global cybersecurity leader got a boost from being added to the S&P 500 index and from some bullish notes by Wall Street analysts. 

So what

The S&P 500 completed its quarterly rebalancing last month. It removed Dish Network and replaced it with Palo Alto Network. As a result, funds tracking that index needed to rebalance their holdings and buy shares of Palo Alto Networks. That buying put some upward pressure on the stock price last month. 

In addition, a few analysts put out positive reports on the cybersecurity stock last month. Analysts at Piper Sandler reevaluated their top five tech stock picks last month, keeping Palo Alto Networks on the list. The firm has an overweight rating on the stock. In addition, it raised its price target last month to $250, up from $240. Piper Sander sees the company as a broad consolidation play with robust cloud growth prospects. Palo Alto Network's integrated platform provides customers with a simplified solution, allowing them to consolidate vendors. 

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives reiterated his outperform rating on Palo Alto last month while boosting his price target from $225 per share to $290. The analyst believes the company is about to enter the "next stage of growth." As business transformation drives more companies to bring more business processes into the cloud, they need to move their cybersecurity defenses into the cloud. The analyst sees the move to the cloud as opening a $200 billion growth opportunity for cloud security. The company's next-generation cloud platform puts it in an excellent position to capitalize on this trend. 

Several other Wall Street banks and research firms boosted their price targets on the cybersecurity stock last month. For example, Bank of America increased its price target from $230 to $250 a share in early June and then again later in the month to $270 per share. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley made it a top pick last month while increasing its price target to $302. Also of note, BTIG boosted its price target from $253 per share to $307 per share following a meeting with Palo Alto's management last month. 

Now what

Analysts see a bright future for Palo Alto Networks. It's easy to see why they're so bullish on the company. It released its latest quarterly results in late May, showing 24% revenue growth and its fourth straight quarter of positive net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The company also raised its cash-flow and operating margin guidance for the fiscal year. It's benefiting from the continued consolidation of vendors as customers choose its integrated platform and next-generation technology over competing solutions.