Palo Alto stock is moving back toward its recent record highs
Options traders are targeting Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) today, as the stock heads for its biggest daily gain in two years. The odd timing of the cybersecurity name's Friday night earnings results sent Wall Street abuzz, but the scare was for nothing, given the company's strong fiscal fourth-quarter results and upbeat forecast. The relief is apparent given today's price action, with analysts flooding the equity with price-target hikes as well. At last glance, PANW was up 15.9% at $243.08.
So far, 109,000 calls and 75,000 puts have been exchanged, which is already 4.2 times the stock's average daily options volume. The weekly 8/25 250-strike call is the most popular by far, with new positions being bought to open there. Looking further ahead, the top five open interest positions are put contracts expiring in January 2024.
On the charts, PANW is climbing back up toward its July 5 record highs, following the stock's inclusion on the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Plus, the stock's 150-day moving average appears to have captured last session's pullback. Year-to-date, the equity is up 74.1%.
It's also worth noting that Palo Alto stock's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) of 23.4 sits in "oversold" territory. Short interest represents 6.2% of the stock's available float, too. Both of these factors point toward a potential short-term bounce.