Palo Alto Networks jumps as earnings beat, CFO announces retirement

Palo Alto Networks Inc. stock received a boost Thursday afternoon from better-than-expected earnings to close out its fiscal year, but the company's chief financial officer is on his way out. The security-software company reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $38.2 million, or 42 cents a share, on sales of $509.1 million. It is the first time Palo Alto Networks has topped $500 million in revenue in a quarter, as sales gained 27% from the same period a year ago. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other effects, the company claimed a profit of 92 cents a share, up from 66 cents a share a year before. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of 79 cents a share after Palo Alto Networks guided for 78 cents to 80 cents a share, and revenue of $488 million, according to FactSet. The company projected that it will top $2 billion in sales for the first time in the current fiscal year, with a 2018 fiscal-year forecast for annual revenue of $2.125 to $2.165 billion. Palo Alto Networks also detailed a slight shakeup at the top, as Chief Financial Officer Steffan Tomlinson announced his retirement, though he will remain in place until the company finds a replacement, and the company said Lee Klarich, formerly executive vice president of product management, has been named chief product officer. Palo Alto Networks stock gained 6.5% in late trading after the announcement, topping $141 after closing with a 0.1% decline at $132.69.

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