CRWD vs PANW Stock Comparison

Compare CRWD vs PANW on performance, valuation, growth, fundamentals, momentum and risk; the current AIQ evidence does not show a clear headline leader.

Market data as of Oct 21, 2026 market close· AIQ score gap 0 points
CRWD
Technology
vs
PANW
Technology
CRWD
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.
Price
$239
Day move
+5.26%
AIQ Score
36/100
Best edge
Balanced
Sector
Technology
PANW
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
Price
$347
Day move
+2.05%
AIQ Score
36/100
Best edge
Balanced
Sector
Technology

What is the main difference between CRWD and PANW?

CRWD and PANW are close on the current AIQ evidence, so the better fit depends more on objective, risk tolerance and valuation preference than on a single headline score.

AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. vs Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Data as of Oct 21, 2026· market close· Technology· Coverage 66/66 fields· High confidence
AIQ VerdictFragileAIQ Comparison Conviction 1/10

CRWD and PANW are effectively level

CRWD and PANW are effectively level on the AIQ Score; the factor table below shows where each one holds its advantage.

Evidence agreement: 0 of 6Comparison trend: Stable
CRWD

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.

AIQ Score
36/100
AIQ Edge Score
2/10
PANW

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

AIQ Score
36/100
AIQ Edge Score
2/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score does not currently separate CRWD and PANW as of Oct 21, 2026. Both names are scored on the same 0–100 scale across Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk Resilience, and the factor table below shows where each one holds its advantage.

Compare CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.

Currently unavailable

Performance over time

Price return from daily closes; distributions are not included.

CRWD
+220.9%
PANW
+305.0%

Price return comparison

Growth of $10,000, price only

CRWD $32,093 · PANW $40,499

Split-adjusted closes only. Distributions are excluded, which understates the return of any fund or stock that pays them.

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AIQ Factor Divergence

Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.

CRWD advantage
0
PANW advantage
  • Risk Resilience47 vs 44
    Even
  • Quality59 vs 60
    Even
  • Momentum15 vs 16
    Even
  • Value24 vs 24
    Even

Neither name separates cleanly on the covered dimensions.

What changed since the last close

Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.

CRWD0 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum -1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.

New signals

  • RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce — bullish, momentum, short horizon
  • EMA Ribbon Compression — neutral, trend, medium horizon
PANW-1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum -5

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 5 active signals are unchanged.

PANW's lead narrowed by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.

Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — CRWD and PANW both carry a full feed there.

Which one fits your objective

The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.

Balanced

Even

Neither separates on the overall score.

Growth

CRWD

CRWD on combined revenue and EPS growth.

Value

Even

The two are level on Value.

Momentum

Even

The two are level on Momentum.

Lower downside

CRWD

CRWD carries the lower 1-month annualized volatility.

Analyst upside

PANW

PANW on implied upside to the consensus price target.

AIQ vs Wall Street

Where the systematic read and the analyst consensus line up — and where they do not.

MeasureCRWDPANWNote
Implied upside to target-9.9%+4%PANW has more room
Target dispersion+149.2%+85.6%Lower is tighter analyst agreement
ConsensusBuyBuyContext, not a primary driver
Analysts covering3337Higher coverage generally improves confidence

Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

AIQ Agreement Matrix

How each independent group of evidence reads the pair.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreEven36 vs 36
FundamentalsEvenrevenue growth 6.2% vs 15.7%; EPS growth -81.1% vs -147.5%; TTM ROE 1.3% vs 1.7%; gross margin 75.2% vs 70.4%; operating margin -2.2% vs 6%
ValuationEvenValue 24 vs 24
TechnicalsCRWDPrice vs 50-day 2.5% vs -6.7%; vs 200-day 40.6% vs 29.7%
Risk ResilienceEvenRisk Resilience 47 vs 44
Analyst expectationsPANWTarget upside -9.9% vs 4%

AIQ Decision Stability

Fragile

The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.

  • The AIQ gap is narrow at 0 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • Only 0 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
  • Analyst targets on the leader are widely dispersed. (argues the conclusion is provisional)

How the comparison changed

120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20
Jun 21CRWD leads above the line · PANW leads belowOct 20
Today
Level
36 vs 36
7 sessions ago
CRWD +3
43 vs 40
30 sessions ago
Level
54 vs 54
90 sessions ago
PANW +2
53 vs 55

The lead changed hands 2 times in this window, most recently on Oct 19 when PANW moved ahead of CRWD.

AIQ Signal Divergence

Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.

CRWDConflicted

3 bullish / 2 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted

Only CRWD

  • RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce — bullish, momentum, short horizon
  • EMA Ribbon Compression — neutral, trend, medium horizon
  • EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish — bullish, trend, medium horizon
PANWConflicted

2 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted

Only PANW

  • BB Lower Band Breach — bullish, volatility, short horizon

Both carry 4 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode, Keltner Channel Breakdown, MACD Bearish Crossover.

Price vs model alignment

Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.

CRWDNo material change

Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +5.26%, AIQ 0 points).

PANWDivergence

Price is up while the AIQ Score moved down 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price +2.05%, AIQ -1 points).

The full evidence

Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.

Fundamentals

Split
MetricCRWDPANW
Revenue growth (YoY)6.2%15.7%
EPS growth (YoY)-81.1%-147.5%
Gross margin75.2%70.4%
Operating margin-2.2%6%
Return on equity (TTM)1.3%1.7%
Debt to equity0.160.09

Performance

CRWD leads 6 of 6 windows
MetricCRWDPANW
1 week (5 sessions)-13%-14.1%
1 month (20 sessions)-9.1%-9.2%
3 months (63 sessions)20.7%1.5%
6 months (126 sessions)102.3%94.5%
Year to date94%84.7%
1 year (252 sessions)88.6%65.6%

Technicals

CRWD has the stronger structure
MetricCRWDPANW
RSI (14)29.531.6
ADX (14)23.119.8
Price vs 50-day2.5%-6.7%
Price vs 200-day40.6%29.7%
Volatility (1M, annualized)49.9%55.5%

Risk

Split
MetricCRWDPANW
Beta1.61.29
Sharpe ratio1.341.17
Sortino ratio2.271.91
Max drawdown-37.2%-36%
Current drawdown-18.5%-19%
Annualized volatility55.7%49.1%
Value at risk (95%)-5.1%-4.7%

Straight answers

Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.

Which has more analyst upside, CRWD or PANW?

Analyst price targets imply -9.9% upside for CRWD and +4% for PANW, so the Street currently favors PANW. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

Which is better value, CRWD or PANW?

Neither name separates on the peer-relative Value factor. The two are level on Value. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.

Which has stronger growth, CRWD or PANW?

CRWD on combined revenue and EPS growth. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.

Which has stronger momentum, CRWD or PANW?

The two are level on Momentum. Momentum is one of the four weighted factors in the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.

Which is riskier, CRWD or PANW?

CRWD is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. CRWD carries the lower 1-month annualized volatility. Risk Resilience is a weighted factor in the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.

Is CRWD more profitable than PANW?

The profitability evidence is mixed: gross margin 75.2% vs 70.4%; operating margin -2.2% vs 6%; ttm roe 1.3% vs 1.7%. Each name leads on one measure, and there is no single profitability composite that resolves the split — which of the two reads as "more profitable" depends on whether you weight pricing power or operating leverage.

What do the current signals say about CRWD and PANW?

CRWD: 3 bullish / 2 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted. PANW: 2 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on CRWD is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On PANW it is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon).

Compare CRWD and PANW with others

Continue your research

This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.

How this comparison is scored

The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.

The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.

How to use side-by-side comparison →

This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.