The cybersecurity stocks have benefited as the digital market is booming.
As we increasingly migrated to online commerce, the worldwide cybersecurity market was worth $162.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% and be worth nearly half a trillion dollars by 2028, according to Quince Market Insights.
North America is forecast to capture the largest share of the global cybersecurity market’s growth in that time. And a handful of cybersecurity firms are leading the way when it comes to helping businesses, governments and individuals protect their technology and personal information from a growing barrage of hackers.
Here we look at four cybersecurity stocks keeping our data safer.
- Crowdstrike (NASDAQ:CRWD)
- NortonLifeLock (NASDAQ:NLOK)
- Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW)
- FireEye (NASDAQ:FEYE)
Cybersecurity Stocks: Crowdstrike (CRWD)
We’ll start with one of the biggest and best-known of the cybersecurity stocks California-based Crowdstrike. CRWD stock has been on an upswing since the end of March, climbing to around $212 from a trough of $173.85 a share.
However, the stock remains below its 52-week high and appears undervalued. The median price target that analysts have on CrowdStrike stock is $250 a share, with a high price of $280.
The company remains a market leader in the fast-growing cloud-based, endpoint protection segment of the cybersecurity industry and is pushing into 5G network security, where analysts see a lot of growth potential.
Crowdstrike has been a growth stock for many years now. After all, the company’s revenues have expanded 1,100% since 2017.
Additionally, CrowdStrike is today a leading authority in the area of “threat intelligence.” Rather than just preventing hacks, Crowdstrike seeks to understand a hacker’s motives and methods and help its clients prevent future threats or respond rapidly in the event that an incident happens.
NortonLifeLock (NLOK)
Another well-known market leader in cybersecurity is NortonLifeLock. The Arizona-based company focuses on protecting consumers from cyber crimes and identity theft.
Business has been booming during the global pandemic as adults and children work and attend school from home and look to protect their personal technology. In business since 1982, NortonLifeLock was one of the first companies to protect personal computers and remains a leader when it comes to privacy software.
As with many technology stocks, NortonLifeLock has seen peaks and valleys this year. Year-to-date, NLOK stock is up 7% at $22.15 a share. However, the stock remains 10% below its 52-week high of $24.40 per share.
Looking out to the rest of this year, NortonLifeLock should continue to perform well, buoyed by continued strong demand.
In its most recent quarter, NortonLifeLock reported revenue of $639 million, up 6% year-over-year and greater than the $634 million that analysts had expected. Earnings per share came in at $0.38, ahead of the consensus expectation of $0.37.
Cybersecurity Stocks: Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
The global pandemic has been a real shot in the arm of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. The company credited the Covid-19 pandemic with its revenue growing 32% year-over-year in the final quarter of 2020.
The company has seen demand spike for its cloud-based, end-to-end security solution. Palo Alto Networks has forecast sales growth of 20% for its current 2021 fiscal year. As with other cybersecurity stocks on this list, Palo Alto Networks is also well-positioned to benefit from security related to 5G wireless networks as they are rolled out.
PANW stock has seen a resurgence since bottoming in mid-March with the broader technology market. In the past six weeks, Palo Alto Networks stock has ascended 14% to $361.53 a share. Yet the stock still remains 10% below its 52-week high of $403 a share.
Savvy investors should see a buying opportunity with this stock. The company’s artificial-intelligence-powered threat detection platform called “Cortex” counts 66% of Fortune 100 companies as customers.
FireEye (FEYE)
One of the less well-known cybersecurity stocks is FireEye. The California-based tech company has completed a shift in its business to a subscription-based model that focused on cloud security from a product sales model previously.
That change should help FireEye capture market share and succeed in the hyper-competitive cybersecurity space. The company’s sales in this year’s first quarter rose 10% from a year earlier to $246.3 million, beating analysts’ estimates of $237 million. FireEye’s net loss improved in the quarter to $55.2 million from $76.3 million a year ago.
FEYE stock has had a bumpy ride so far in 2021. Year-to-date, the stock is trading just above $20 a share and remains well below its 52-week high of $25.53.
Going forward, FireEye stock should reverse higher as the company’s new business model takes hold and its financials improve. The median price target on the company’s stock is $24.50 a share, suggesting potential upside of 26% from here. The high price target on the stock is $27.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
