New York, February 10, 2026, 12:24 EST — Regular session
- CyberArk shares ticked higher before Nasdaq slapped an after-hours halt, the move linked to the Palo Alto takeover timing.
- Palo Alto’s cash-and-stock bid moved with its own shares, holding the implied price close to $412.
- Traders zeroed in on the narrow spread during what Nasdaq described as CyberArk’s final planned trading day.
CyberArk Software Ltd gained 0.3%, trading at $410.32 by midday on Nasdaq. The exchange announced it will halt trading in CyberArk after Tuesday’s after-hours session, as Palo Alto Networks moves closer to sealing its acquisition. The deal, according to Nasdaq, is tentatively lined up to close before markets open Feb. 11, with CyberArk shareholders set to get $45 in cash plus 2.2005 shares of Palo Alto for each CyberArk share.
This notice packs the trading window into just a few hours. For anyone still on CyberArk’s roster, Tuesday looks like the final straightforward shot to sell out before shares lock and shift to cash and Palo Alto stock.
CyberArk’s stock hasn’t really been moving on its own lately—it’s acting almost like a stand-in for Palo Alto, thanks to the bulk of the deal coming in shares. As the deadline approaches, that connection only grows stronger.
Tuesday’s pricing put the offer at around $412 per CyberArk share, just $1.75 above where the stock actually traded. That thin spread is exactly what keeps merger-arb desks in business.
Merger arb aims to capture the spread—typically long the target, short or hedged the acquirer. The math works if the deal closes on time. If that timeline slips, the trade unravels quickly.
CyberArk rolled out a channel update Tuesday, tapping PwC as its global partner of the year. Accenture, Deloitte, and Amazon Web Services also made the list of honorees. “Our partners are a critical extension of our sales organization,” said Chris Moore, the company’s senior vice president for global channels, in the release. CyberArk
CyberArk notched record numbers for both the fourth quarter and the full year 2025, CEO Matt Cohen said last week, with net-new annual recurring revenue climbing to $99 million—a key figure for its subscription run-rate. The company skipped its regular earnings guidance and also scrapped its usual call to discuss results, citing the pending deal.
Palo Alto shares nudged higher Tuesday, and that’s not just a footnote. Each $1 change in Palo Alto’s stock swings the implied value of the CyberArk payout by roughly $2.20.
Still, the schedule remains “tentative”—deal timelines have a way of shifting if sign-offs or documents lag. Last summer, when Palo Alto dropped news of the acquisition, Roth Capital Partners analyst Imtiaz Koujalgi described it as “a bit of an unknown territory for Palo Alto.” That spoke directly to the integration risk investors pointed out back then. Reuters
Right now, it’s less a debate, more a waiting game. Traders are eyeing the planned halt after Tuesday’s after-hours session, watching to see if the merger wraps up on schedule ahead of Wednesday’s open.
