Tag Archive for: Stocks

4 Stocks to Buy Now – 24/7 Wall St.

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It never fails. Individuals, businesses and government become complacent about the need for stringent cybersecurity protection, and then a massive breach like the one on Colonial Pipeline happens and tens of millions of people can’t buy gasoline. Jet fuel and distillates are also cut-off, and there is basically nothing to be done until the situation is remedied. As always, guess what stocks are right back in the spotlight? Cybersecurity software.

Over the years, the massive hacks at Adobe, eBay, Equifax, Microsoft Exchange Server, Yahoo and more have done huge damage. Like now, there is always a vow for more diligence. The Biden administration enacted new executive orders focusing on the government taking aggressive steps toward Zero Trust adoption. The executive order is also very firm about implementing multifactor authentication at government agencies, and many across Wall Street feel that is critical to an effective Zero Trust plan.

Zero Trust architecture is an alternative security model that addresses the fundamental flaw of traditional strategies that data only needs to be protected from outside of an organization. The Zero Trust model views data security through a new lens, enabling parameters that dictate access and restrictions internally as well.

While the hack at Colonial does not immediately mean orders will fly through the doors of the top companies, it has refocused those in leadership positions on the crucial need for data and hardware security. We screened the BofA Securities cybersecurity software research universe looking for the top stocks that are rated Buy and found four that offer big upside to current price levels and solid growth prospects going forward. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock.

CrowdStrike

This cybersecurity stock has pulled back recently after a stellar run and is offering an outstanding entry point. CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) is a leader in the endpoint protection platform (EPP) market. EPP solutions help protect enterprises’ internet-connected devices from cyberattacks, and there is a market shift from signature-based on-premises solutions to cloud-based…

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3 Security Stocks to Watch Post Cyberattack on U.S Pipeline

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The recent ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline Co. has resurfaced the rising threat that cyber crime poses worlwide. This followed the December 2020 hacking incident at SolarWinds supply chain.

Although heavy reliance on technology by business as well as individuals drove operational efficiency and eased our lives, the same increased vulnerability to cyber offences

Rapid Automation Resulting in More Cyber Raids

This simply underlines the fact that the frequent use of technology is directly proportional to the possibilities of cybercrime. Therefore, the more technology will be leveraged, higher will be the chances of virtual breaches.

Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic further fuelled the incidence of cyber onslaughts as businesses of all sizes are transitioning their operations to various online platforms. Now from working to spending, education to entertainment, and even healthcare and much more went virtual causing high technology percolation in everyday lives. This puts not only businesses but also schools, hospitals and other organizations at the receiving end of online assaults.

While public institutions and large companies have always been the target of hackers, now smaller organizations with lower security standards are reaching their radar.

Further, the advent of 5G will enable other devices to connect to the Internet, thereby expanding the scope for Iot and AI. While AI and IoT will simplify things, it will also aggravate the rate of cyber crime with accessibility of wider options as more and more activity becomes technology reliant.

Cyber Attack to Grow by Leaps and Bounds

Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow 15% per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion, annually, by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015.

The United States is already hard-hit by cyber violations. In 2018, an FBI agent said that every American citizen should expect that all their data (personally identifiable information) is stolen and is on the dark web.

Research firm Gartner forecasts that the corporate computer security market will grow more than 10%, on average, annually through 2024, outpacing the 3% growth rate of spending in the information technology…

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Burberry, commodity stocks drag FTSE 100 to over 5-week low; inflation worries linger

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The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

London’s FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, dragged down by heavyweight commodity stocks and Burberry Group after an underwhelming earnings update, while fears of a spike in inflation as the economy recovers hurt demand for equities.

The blue-chip index (.FTSE) slipped 2.3% to its lowest level since April 7. Luxury brand Burberry (BRBY.L) tumbled 7.7% to the bottom of the index after it reported lower annual sales, hit by store closures and reduced tourism due to the pandemic. read more

Oil majors BP (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), and miners (.FTNMX551020) were among the biggest drag, tracking falls in crude and commodity prices.

The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC) declined 1.5%.

Globally, stocks slipped after a shocking rise in U.S. inflation bludgeoned Wall Street and sent bond yields surging on worries the Federal Reserve might have to move early on tightening.

“Inflation has really returned with a vengeance this week as a key concern for investors… and now, the market finds itself in a bit of a panic,” said Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex.

“There is probably feels of choppiness to be found, and I don’t know whether the market falls back to an acceptable level in the eyes of investors before they start to buy up again.”

After rising 10.9% this year by last week on reopening optimism, the FTSE 100 has pared some of those gains in the last few sessions on worries that central banks might tighten their ultra-loose monetary policies sooner than expected to curb inflation.

BT Group (BT.L), Britain’s biggest broadband and mobile provider, slid 3.8% after it reported lower earnings for the year to end-March and forecast adjusted revenue to be broadly flat this year. read more

Canadian computer chip designer Alphawave IP Group’s shares (AWE.L) tumbled 15% in their London market debut. read more

However, cyber security adviser NCC Group (NCCG.L) gained 6.5% after it proposed to buy the intellectual property management business of Iron Mountain Inc (IRM.N).

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Cybersecurity Stocks To Buy And Watch

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You may think the time is right to move into cybersecurity stocks, if you’re reading this IBD investing primer.




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Among new developments: consolidation may be coming in the cybersecurity industry. Okta (OKTA) in early March acquired privately held Auth0 in a $6.5 billion, all-stock deal. Also, Okta is expanding into new security markets vs. CyberArk Software (CYBR) and SailPoint Technologies (SAIL).

CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) in February bought cloud-based Humio for roughly $400 million. CrowdStrike expects upside from a cloud computing partnership with Amazon.

Also, Microsoft (MSFT) disclosed that its cybersecurity revenues top $10 billion annually.  With 400,000 customers, Microsoft’s computer security franchise is growing at more than 40%, the company said. Microsoft could pressure more industry incumbents as it expands cloud-based security services.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW), meanwhile, told analysts it’s exploring a new “equity structure.” One option, analysts say, would be creating a tracking stock to unlock the value of the company’s cloud business. Provisionally called ClaiSec, Palo Alto’s cloud unit has new products using artificial intelligence. A decision may not come for six months.

Cybersecurity Stocks: Covid Pandemic Speeds Shift To Cloud Services

The big picture: the coronavirus outbreak and shift to remote work accelerated a shift to cybersecurity services delivered via cloud computing infrastructure. CrowdStrike and Zscaler (ZS) were among cloud-based security firms to get a boost.

Zscaler’s fourth-quarter earnings, revenue and billings topped expectations. Even if economies normalize in 2021, analysts expect corporate spending on cloud-based security to remain a priority.

Cybersecurity stocks rallied in mid-December amid reports that Russian hackers accessed U.S. government computer networks via network management software provided by SolarWinds (SWI). Government agencies and companies exposed to the “Sunburst” cyberattack continue to assess damage.

The rally in cybersecurity stocks has eased. The big questions: how much of a spending boost on network monitoring/threat detection will result from the SolarWinds breach and what cybersecurity stocks…

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