Decoding Palo Alto Networks's Options Activity: What's the Big Picture?

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 positions 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.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 14 options trades for Palo Alto Networks.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 21% bullish and 78%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $46,000, and 13, calls, for a total amount of $708,392.

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 $210.0 and $310.0 for Palo Alto Networks, spanning the last three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Palo Alto Networks stands at 579.92, with a total volume reaching 727.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Palo Alto Networks, situated within the strike price corridor from $210.0 to $310.0, throughout the last 30 days.

Palo Alto Networks 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Noteworthy Options Activity:

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.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Palo Alto Networks, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Palo Alto Networks's Current Market Status

• With a volume of 1,285,903, the price of PANW is down -0.17% at $305.05.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 69 days.

What The Experts Say On Palo Alto Networks

5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $284.2.

• An analyst from B of A Securities has revised its rating downward to Neutral, adjusting the price target to $265.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from RBC Capital downgraded its rating to Outperform, setting a price target of $281.
• An analyst from Needham downgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $305.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded its rating to Overweight, setting a price target of $280.
• An analyst from Wedbush has revised its rating downward to Outperform, adjusting the price target to $290.

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.