Wedbush Starts Proofpoint (PFPT) at Outperform; Added to Best Ideas LIst

Wedbush initiates coverage on Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT) with a Outperform rating and a price target of $79.00 and is adding the stock to the Best Ideas List.

Analyst Steve Koenig commented, "PFPT is an emerging leader in next-generation cybersecurity, with differentiated technology and a unique approach to the market. While other vendors try to position themselves as complete platforms for cybersecurity, PFPT has focused on using its superiority in email and its cloud-native Big Data architecture to enter adjacent markets (e.g., advanced threats and threat response) through acquisitions and R&D while continuing to advance its product leadership in email security."

The firm said PFPT's approach will be a winning formula for the company. "We don't believe there is any perfect product, or combination of products, that will confer guaranteed protection. While major breaches of Target, Anthem (ANTM, NEUTRAL), Sony Pictures Entertainment, and the federal government have opened people's eyes to the threat posed by cybercriminals and state actors, organizations can't and won't spend unlimited amounts of money on cybersecurity. Rather, they will likely choose products from best-of-breed vendors in a variety of categories from firewalls to sandboxes to in-line email security that confer the most effective combination of cost and risk reduction. Furthermore, we believe PFPT's incremental approach to expanding its market coverage has set the company on a course to achieve profitability by late next year and then expand margins rapidly through operating leverage as cloud billings flow through the P&L."

Longer term, they think PFPT is on its way to becoming a security market leader as a provider of cloud-based protection across a broad range of threat vectors, likely including web security.

On the top line, the company's visibility and conservative guidance approach combine to create a highly probable beat and raise pattern, in the firm's view

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Proofpoint click here. For more ratings news on Proofpoint click here.

Shares of Proofpoint closed at $65.00 yesterday.

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