Analyst Says Cybersecurity Industry Will Have Robust 2025: 5 Stocks Retail Is Watching Closely
By Stocktwits Inc | First Published Dec 12, 2024, 9:24 PM ISTDan Ives expects over 30% gains for Cybersecurity stocks over the next year, thanks to accelerated cloud and AI growth and mergers and acquisitions.
The Nasdaq Composite Index settled above the 20,000 level for the first time on Wednesday, underlining investor optimism over tech stocks. A bullish analyst said he expects the tech rally to continue in 2025, with the cybersecurity industry potentially outperforming the broader tech sector.
Wedbush’s Daniel Ives predicts a 25% gain for tech stocks in 2025 under his base-case scenario. His optimism is premised on the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution taking hold amid the second and third tidal wave of AI tech spending.
Latest Videos
Within the tech sector, the analyst expects cybersecurity stocks to have a robust 2025. He estimates over 30% gains for the stocks over the next year, thanks to accelerated cloud and AI growth and mergers and acquisitions.
The First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF ($CIBR), an exchange-traded fund that tracks cybersecurity stocks, was up 20.6% in 2024, less than the Nasdaq Composite’s nearly 34% advance.
As the cybersecurity subsector is poised to have a standout year, here’s a compilation of top stocks that are on retail’s radar:
CrowdStrike, Inc. ($CRWD)
CrowdStrike shares have gained more than 42% this year. The Austin, Texas-based company recently reported a beat-and-raise quarter. Following the quarterly results, Wedbush’s Ives called the company the gold standard for Cybersecurity.
A Crowdstrike upgrade that caused a global outage for devices running on Microsoft systems in mid-July represented merely a dark chapter in the company's multi-year growth story, the analyst said.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward CrowdStrike stayed ‘neutral’ (52/100), with message volume remaining ‘normal.’
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. ($PANW)
Palo Alto shares are up 35% for the year, and the stock is the second most widely followed pure-play cybersecurity vendors on Stocktwits. In late November, the company reported strong quarterly results and hiked its full-year guidance.
The company also announced a 2-for-1 stock split, with the stock scheduled to trade on a split-adjusted basis on Dec. 16.
Sentiment toward Palo Alto stock was 'bullish’ (70/100), with message volume picking up to ‘high.'
Cloudflare, Inc. ($NET)
Cloudflare shares have gained about 38% this year. The company reported strong quarterly results in early November. During the quarter, it added 219 new large customers who pay more than $100,000 per year. About 35% of the Fortune 500 companies are now paying Cloudflare customers, it said.
On Stocktwits, retailers have a ‘neutral’ sentiment (48/100) toward the stock, while message volume increased to 'high.'
Zscaler, Inc. ($ZS)
Zscaler stock has underperformed its peers, with a negative 6% return for the year-to-date period. Following a strong first-quarter report, the company's shares received a raft of upward price target adjustments.
According to data compiled by TipRanks, the average analysts’ price target for Zscaler is $224.68, which leaves scope for roughly 8% upside.
Sentiment toward Zscaler stock was ‘neutral’ (46/100), with message volume remaining ‘normal.’
SentinelOne, Inc. ($S)
Shares of Mountainview, California-based SentinelOne has lost over 14% for the year. The average analysts' price target for SentinelOne stock is $29.90, offering scope for over 26% upside.
On Stocktwits, sentiment toward SentinelOne stock is ‘bearish’ (43/100), with message volume at a ‘low’ level.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<
subscribe to Asianet Newsable WhatsApp channel by clicking here. For more reliable and latest news
subscribe to Asianet Newsable Telegram channel by clicking here.