Shares of SentinelOne surged as much as 17% to $21.11 on Monday after Israeli tech site CTech reported that Palo Alto Networks was in advanced negotiations to buy the endpoint-security provider for between $8 billion and $10 billion. Palo Alto Networks, the world’s largest listed cybersecurity company with a market capitalization of about $134 billion, would reinforce its position against rival CrowdStrike by adding SentinelOne’s endpoint detection and response technology. The initial report put the prospective purchase price well above SentinelOne’s roughly $6.5 billion market value and sparked heavy trading in both stocks; Palo Alto shares were up about 3% at one point. Rosenblatt simultaneously initiated SentinelOne with a Buy rating, adding to the momentum. Within an hour of the market reaction, CNBC quoted a Palo Alto Networks spokesperson as saying there was “no truth” to the takeover talk. The company later told Investing.com that it does not comment on rumour or speculation, softening perceptions of an outright denial and leaving the status of any discussions unclear. SentinelOne has not commented. SentinelOne went public in 2021 at a $9 billion valuation but has since lost more than half its value amid slowing enterprise-software spending. Palo Alto, historically an active acquirer, last announced a deal in April when it agreed to buy AI-security specialist Protect AI for several hundred million dollars. Whether the latest speculation will translate into formal negotiations remains to be seen, but Monday’s gyrations underscore investors’ appetite for consolidation in the fragmented cybersecurity sector.