Palo Alto Networks Stock Jumps On Expanded AI Partnership With Google Cloud: The Details

Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW shares are trading higher Tuesday after the company announced an expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud.

What Happened: Palo Alto announced that it extended and increased its commitment to Alphabet Inc’s GOOG GOOGL Google Cloud with a ten-figure, multi-year commitment and named Google Cloud its AI and infrastructure provider of choice.

Palo Alto said the expanded agreement solidifies its place as Google Cloud’s preferred next-generation firewall provider. The agreement also underscores the critical importance of platformization fueled by AI to deliver near-real-time security resolutions, the company said.

“As the threat landscape intensifies, organizations are betting on AI-powered platformization to protect their most valuable assets,” said Nikesh Arora, president and CEO of Palo Alto Networks.

“The increased depth of Palo Alto Network’s partnership with Google Cloud empowers customers to transform their digital futures without sacrificing security. We look forward to expanding our footprint using Google’s capabilities to accelerate and deliver AI-driven cybersecurity advancements.”

Palo Alto and Google Cloud have maintained a partnership since 2018 focused on transforming cybersecurity. The expanded partnership is expected to create customer value as new and existing workloads are developed and managed with zero-trust network security and enhanced AI capabilities.

See Also: What’s Going On With Alphabet Stock Tuesday?

How To Buy PANW Stock

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in Palo Alto’s case, it’s in the Information Technology sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF VTI is the biggest holder of Palo Alto stock in the ETF universe.

PANW Price Action: Palo Alto shares were up 3.61% at $278.28 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Michael Vi via Shutterstock.