Palo Alto Networks Options Trading: A Deep Dive into Market Sentiment

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 34 uncommon options trades for Palo Alto Networks.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 41% bullish and 58%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 3 are puts, for a total amount of $120,380, and 31 are calls, for a total amount of $1,518,342.

Expected Price Movements

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $200.0 to $450.0 for Palo Alto Networks over the recent three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in Palo Alto Networks's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to Palo Alto Networks's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $200.0 to $450.0 over the preceding 30 days.

Palo Alto Networks 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Significant Options Trades Detected:

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 85,000 customers across the world, including more than three fourths of the Global 2000.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Palo Alto Networks, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Palo Alto Networks's Current Market Status

• With a volume of 4,196,718, the price of PANW is up 1.63% at $305.35.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 67 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Palo Alto Networks

Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $280.4.

• An analyst from Wedbush downgraded its action to Outperform with a price target of $290.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Raymond James keeps a Outperform rating on Palo Alto Networks with a target price of $260.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded its rating to Overweight, setting a price target of $280.
• An analyst from JMP Securities has revised its rating downward to Market Outperform, adjusting the price target to $300.
• An analyst from JP Morgan persists with their Overweight rating on Palo Alto Networks, maintaining a target price of $272.

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.