Cybersecurity was in the spotlight last week as Colonial Pipeline resumed operations after an attack by ransomware-as-a-service group DarkSide. By Friday, DarkSide claimed it was retreating after its servers were seized and an outside party drained a crypto wallet used to pay affiliates.
President Biden signed an executive order to strengthen the nation's cybersecurity. The timing coincided with the Colonial Pipeline breach, but the language was referring to the hack of IT software company SolarWinds, which exposed federal agencies and led to sanctions against Russia.
Cybersecurity will remain in focus next week, but there are a couple other key tech stock drivers to watch as we head into the third week of May.
Palo Alto Networks reports earnings
Looking ahead at next week, more details could continue to come out about the Colonial breach. And cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) is due to report earnings on May 20. Consensus estimates expect $1.06B in revenue and $1.29 EPS.
In February, Palo Alto guided for Q3 revenue of $1.03-1.06B, EPS of $1.27-1.29, and billings of $1.22-1.24B. The full-year view included $4.15-4.2B in revenue, EPS of $5.80-5.90, and billings of $5.13-5.18B.
In a note last Thursday, Deutsche Bank analyst Patrick Colville said PANW's guidance "looks like a stretch." For the copmany to hit its FY21 ARR target, Palo Alto "must add $310M of ARR in 3Q and 4Q." The company only added $189M in the first two quarters of the year.
Apple-Epic trial winds down
The third and final week of the antitrust trial between Epic and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is ahead. Apple is expected to put key execs like CEO Tim Cook and former marketing chief and current Apple Fellow Phil Schiller on the stand.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers hinted at the potential compromise of Apple allowing apps to point users to alternative subscription routes like the app's website, but experts testifying for both companies saw flaws in that plan.
Google I/O returns
After cancelling the developer conference last year due to the pandemic, Google (GOOG,GOOGL) I/O returns with the keynote kicking off on Tuesday, May 18, at 1 PM ET. Google will unveil its next big Android operating system upgrade, Android 12. The company will also provide updates for its various services and software, which could include Maps, Assistant, or Chrome changes, to name a few.
There's also a small chance that Google will debut its long-anticipated in-house system on a chip for its Pixel phones, which is currently known as GS101 and is expected to debut in new Pixel models this fall.
Deeper dive: Want more insight into next week's stock movers? Check out Catalyst Watch and Stocks to Watch.