PANW News & Events

The White House announced: "President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to combat cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes targeting American families, businesses, and critical infrastructure. The Order directs relevant Administration officials to conduct a comprehensive review to determine what operational, technical, diplomatic, and regulatory tools could be improved to combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in cyber-enabled crime and predatory schemes. The Order requires the submission of an action plan that identifies the TCOs responsible for scam centers and cybercrime and proposes solutions to prevent, disrupt, investigate, and dismantle their operations-including through the establishment of a dedicated operational cell within the National Coordination Center. The Order directs the Attorney General to prioritize prosecutions of cyber-enabled fraud and scam schemes, pursuing the most serious, provable offenses. The Order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to partner with the NCC to provide training, technical assistance, and resilience building against cyber threats for State and local partners. The Order directs the Attorney General to submit a recommendation regarding the establishment of a Victims Restoration Program to return seized or forfeited funds from fraudsters directly to victims. The Order directs the Secretary of State to engage with foreign governments regarding demands to take enforcement action against TCOs on their soil and to impose consequences-including sanctions, visa restrictions, foreign assistance limits, and expulsion of complicit officials-on nations that tolerate these predatory schemes." Publicly traded companies in the cybersecurity space include Check Point (CHKP), CrowdStrike (CRWD), CyberArk (CYBR), F5 (FFIV), Fortinet (FTNT), Gen Digital (GEN), Okta (OKTA), Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Qualys (QLYS).

Moderately bullish activity in Palo Alto Networks (PANW), with shares up $4.39, or 2.77%, near $162.96. Options volume roughly in line with average with 45k contracts traded and calls leading puts for a put/call ratio of 0.65, compared to a typical level near 1.06. Implied volatility (IV30) is higher by 0.8 points near 39.31,and above the 52wk median, suggesting an expected daily move of $4.04. Put-call skew steepened, indicating increased demand for downside protection, following an upgrade to Buy at Arete.

The major averages closed broadly lower amid widening hostilities in the Middle East, but came off their earlier lows after President Donald Trump stated in a Truth Social post that he has ordered the Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and guarantees for the financial security of maritime trade through the Gulf, adding that the U.S. Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, if needed.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Targetreportedand provided guidance for Q1 and FY26Best Buyreportedand increased its quarterly dividendMongoDBreported better-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue butPinterestannounced afrom Elliott Investment Management, saying it expects to use the proceeds to repurchase sharesAppleannounced awith the M5 chip and announced new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips2. WALL STREET CALLS:Blockto Buy at HSBCMongoDBto Neutral at BairdPalo Alto Networksto Buy from Sell at AreteuniQurereceived two more, from Wells Fargo and Mizuho, after the company said the FDA "strongly recommended" a new Huntington's disease studyWall Streetof recent IPOs Once Upon a Farmand SpyGlass Pharma3. AROUND THE WEB:Verizonconsidered pulling back on its NFL sponsorship deal, WSJ reportsSenate Democrats are preparing legislation that would break up U.S. meatpacking cocmccpanies, WSJ saysMetawill form a new applied AI engineering group in its Reality Labs division, WSJ reportsFederal Communications Commission, FCC, chair Brendan Carr has signaled the watchdog does not plan to block Paramount's$110B deal to buy Warner Bros, FT saysDF Research, representing the opinions of Keith Dalrymple and Dalrymple Finance, issued a cautious note on WillScot4. MOVERS:Battalion Oilgains afterto raise approximately $15M at a price of $5.50 per shareZiff Davishigher after entering aits Connectivity division to Accenturefor $1.2B in cashPlug Powerincreases after appointingTheravance Biopharmafalls after announcing it will wind down itsThredUPlower afterand providing guidance for FY265. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Upload Softwareand provided guidance for Q1 and FY26Antalpha, with CFO Paul Liang commenting that the company "finished 2025 on a solid footing"Paysafe, with EPS beating consensusCignabacked itsas it announced a change in CEOOn Holdingand provided guidance for FY26INDEXES:The Dow fell 403.51, or 0.83%, to 48,501.27, the Nasdaq lost 232.17, or 1.02%, to 22,516.69, and the S&P 500 declined 64.99, or 0.94%, to 6,816.93.