Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 174,264 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 399% compared to the typical daily volume of 34,901 put options.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations—revenue grew ~15% and ARR/RPO metrics point to ongoing subscription momentum; revenue guidance was raised, supporting longer‑term growth thesis. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and other commentary frame the pullback as a “buy‑the‑dip” opportunity given a strong balance sheet, high institutional ownership and the company’s platform positioning in cybersecurity. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Palo Alto announced an offer to purchase CyberArk convertible notes as part of closing the CyberArk acquisition—a financing/cleanup step that facilitates the deal but also highlights the scale of transaction activity. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto is buying Koi to bolster AI/agentic endpoint security—adds product capabilities that could drive medium‑term ARR expansion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut price targets and flagged margin pressure from deal/integration costs—HSBC sharply cut its PT to $114, and multiple firms trimmed targets, fueling downward pressure on the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Company trimmed FY profit outlook citing higher integration and deal costs (CyberArk and other acquisitions); coverage highlights this as the main reason for the sell‑off. Read More. and Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity—traders bought ~174,264 put options (≈399% above average put volume), suggesting elevated hedging or bearish positioning into the post‑earnings period.
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term price action shows sizable intraday declines and commentary that the strong earnings were “priced in,” amplifying selling after guidance/profit warnings. Read More.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $150.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.65. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $105.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday. Thirty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.