PANW vs UNH: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-26.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. · Technology
$374.74
-5.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated · Healthcare
$375.21
+28.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
UNH has more upside to fair value
(+28.2%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
PANW |
UNH |
| Current Price |
$374.74 |
$375.21 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$355.11 |
$481.06 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-5.2%
|
+28.2%
|
| Market Cap |
$305.4B |
$340.7B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
569.8x
|
15.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
26.6x
|
0.8x
|
| Price / FCF |
64.0x
|
14.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+34.4%
|
+0.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
70.4%
|
22.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
6.1%
|
4.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
1.7%
|
14.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.41% |
| FCF Yield |
1.56%
|
6.95%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Palo Alto Networks is a global cybersecurity leader built around next-generation firewalls, the Panorama management platform, and a broad subscription portfolio spanning threat prevention, cloud security, secure access, and security analytics, sold to medium and large enterprises, service providers, and governments through direct and channel distribution. The business quality is genuinely high on…
UnitedHealth Group is the largest diversified healthcare enterprise in the United States, operating UnitedHealthcare insurance plans alongside Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx, with 390,000 employees and a market capitalization of $340.74 billion. The business quality is high: a 14.6% return on equity, $26.07 in free cash flow per share, and a P/FCF of 14.39 demonstrate strong cash gener…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
PANW |
UNH |
| Zone Low |
$266.33 |
$360.80 |
| Zone High |
$301.84 |
$408.90 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|