Palo Alto Networks Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, helped by rising demand for anti-hacking technologies and other security products in its first quarter as a publicly traded company.

Profit before certain costs in the period that ended in July was 3 cents a share, compared with analysts’ average projection that the company would break even, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The net loss was $4.6 million, or 18 cents, Palo Alto said Monday in a statement. Sales rose to $75.6 million, higher than the average prediction for $71.4 million.

The Santa Clara, California-based company is benefiting as companies seek to defend themselves amid a rise in sophisticated hacking attacks that traditional security technologies have had difficulty stopping. Palo Alto is still a small player in the network-security market, where it competes with Cisco Systems Inc., Juniper Networks Inc. as well as Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. and Fortinet Inc.

Worldwide security software revenue rose 7.5 percent last year to $17.7 billion, driven by growth in advanced threats and regulatory requirements, according to market researcher Gartner Inc. Palo Alto’s technologies are a combination of hardware and software.

Palo Alto raised $299.5 million in its July 19 initial public offering, when it sold 7.13 million shares, including an over-allotment, at $42 apiece. The stock has risen 71 percent since then. Shares gained 1.4 percent to $71.75 at Monday’s close in New York.