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 2026-04-22.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. · Technology
$174.96
+15.2% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
VS
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated · Healthcare
$304.33
+41.3% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
QuantHub Verdict
UNH has more upside to fair value
(+41.3%).
UNH trades at a lower forward P/E
(15.1x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
PANW |
UNH |
| Current Price |
$174.96 |
$304.33 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$201.61 |
$430.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+15.2%
|
+41.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$119.2B |
$276.2B |
| Forward P/E |
94.9x
|
15.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
52.4x
|
14.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
12.1x
|
0.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
29.3x
|
17.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+14.9%
|
+11.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
73.5%
|
18.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
14.4%
|
4.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
15.5%
|
12.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.9% |
| FCF Yield |
3.41%
|
5.82%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Palo Alto Networks is a leading cybersecurity company specializing in AI-driven cloud security platforms, subscription services, and hardware products. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat driven by its platform transformation under CEO Nikesh Arora, with over 50% of revenue from high-margin subscription services growing at 25.6% year-over-year in fiscal 2024. Despite a premium va…
UnitedHealth Group is the world's largest diversified healthcare company, combining the dominant US health insurer UnitedHealthcare with the high-margin Optum services platform spanning care delivery, pharmacy benefits, and data analytics. The stock has fallen roughly 49% from its 2024 peak of $596, driven by elevated medical costs, DOJ antitrust scrutiny, CEO transitions (Brian Thompson's murder…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
PANW |
UNH |
| Zone Low |
$151.21 |
$280.00 |
| Zone High |
$171.37 |
$340.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|