Berenberg initiates Buy on Palo Alto Networks at $215 target; Evercore upgrades Arista Networks ahead of May 5 earnings; AMD upgraded — analysts see AI as cybersecurity tailwind, not threat

Berenberg analyst Rahul Chopra started coverage of Palo Alto Networks with a Buy rating and $215 price target this week, arguing that a broad software stock sell-off has pushed the company's valuation roughly 30% below its 2024–25 average despite no meaningful slowdown in organic growth.

Chopra's bull case rests on two shifts: (1) Palo Alto's 'platformisation' strategy—bundling separate point security products into integrated solutions across network, cloud, and security operations—and (2) AI expanding cybersecurity demand rather than shrinking it. As companies embed AI agents (AI systems that decide actions on their own) across operations, they create larger attack surfaces—more data, more cloud apps, more digital identities—that require protection.

For business security buyers, this means the cybersecurity tools you already use are about to consolidate into fewer, broader platforms while adding AI-threat detection layers; vendors sitting on real-time threat data across thousands of customers now have a defensible advantage AI model makers lack. For investors, this signals cybersecurity software is underpriced relative to its structural growth tailwinds.

Separately, Evercore ISI added Arista Networks to its Tactical Outperform list ahead of Q1 earnings on May 5, expecting the company to beat consensus revenue of $2.61 billion and guide Q2 revenue above the $2.78 billion consensus, driven by AI infrastructure wins at Anthropic and Google plus the March launch of its XPO networking chip for 1.6 terabit infrastructure migration.