A Closer Look at Palo Alto Networks's Options Market Dynamics

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Palo Alto Networks PANW.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with PANW, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 26 uncommon options trades for Palo Alto Networks.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 38% bullish and 42%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 3 are puts, for a total amount of $177,670, and 23 are calls, for a total amount of $2,586,606.

Projected Price Targets

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $100.0 and $400.0 for Palo Alto Networks, spanning the last three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Palo Alto Networks options trades today is 982.19 with a total volume of 14,703.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Palo Alto Networks's big money trades within a strike price range of $100.0 to $400.0 over the last 30 days.

Palo Alto Networks Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Options Call Chart

Largest Options Trades Observed:

Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Ask Bid Price Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume
PANW CALL SWEEP BEARISH 12/18/26 $138.7 $132.85 $132.85 $270.00 $1.5M 121 118
PANW CALL TRADE NEUTRAL 01/16/26 $98.15 $96.15 $97.0 $300.00 $97.0K 739 12
PANW CALL TRADE BULLISH 11/15/24 $33.2 $31.5 $33.0 $330.00 $75.9K 948 12
PANW CALL SWEEP BEARISH 10/11/24 $7.2 $6.5 $6.54 $350.00 $66.3K 3.3K 2.1K
PANW PUT SWEEP BEARISH 03/21/25 $30.7 $30.4 $30.7 $350.00 $64.4K 298 41

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks is a platform-based cybersecurity vendor with product offerings covering network security, cloud security, and security operations. The California-based firm has more than 80,000 enterprise customers across the world, including more than three fourths of the Global 2000.

Current Position of Palo Alto Networks

  • With a volume of 903,128, the price of PANW is up 4.61% at $353.53.
  • RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
  • Next earnings are expected to be released in 36 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About Palo Alto Networks

1 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $425.0.

Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?

20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. Click here for access. * An analyst from Goldman Sachs has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Palo Alto Networks, which currently sits at a price target of $425.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Palo Alto Networks, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.

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