We’re still sitting ducks when it comes to cyberattacks, which creates an opportunity for some of the top cybersecurity stocks to buy.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just warned that attacks against water utilities are becoming more frequent and severe. They’re also urging water systems to take immediate action to protect the nation’s drinking water.
In Michigan, pharmacies struggled to fill prescriptions because of a ransomware attacks on Ascension Rx retail pharmacies. Other attacks this year included a denial of service (DDoS) attacks on French state services.
Change Healthcare is still reeling from an attack that’s been called the “biggest ever cybersecurity attacks on the American healthcare system,” as noted by CBS News.
In 2022, the global cost of cybercrimes came in at $8.44 trillion, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the International Monetary Fund. By 2027, it could balloon to $23.84 trillion. Unfortunately, until governments, businesses, schools and your average person take these threats far more seriously, they’ll continue to get worse.
Until the cybersecurity threat diminishes – which is clearly not going to happen any time soon – you may want to invest in some of the top cybersecurity stocks to buy, such as:
Radware (RDWR)
The last time I mentioned Radware (NASDAQ:RDWR), it traded at $16.85 on April 29.
At the time, I noted it had just launched a new artificial intelligence-powered Domain Name Service (DNS) Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack protection solution. Since that mention, the stock exploded to a high of $20.42.
Now overbought at double-top resistance, I’d wait for it to pull back first before buying more.
Helping, the company just posted first quarter earnings per share of 16 cents, which beat by three cents. Revenue of $65.1 million – down 5.7% year over year – also beat by $1.53 million.
“During the quarter, we saw a recovery in customer spending, driven by a slight improvement in the business environment and a surge in cyber-attacks. Looking ahead to 2024, we intend to capitalize on the strong growth across our cloud security business and partner channels and the market need for best-in-class critical security. We believe we are well-positioned to return to revenue growth and improved profitability,” said Roy Zisapel, Radware’s president and CEO.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Oversold shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) are pushing aggressively higher, too.
Since bottoming out at around $260 in February, it’s now up to $323.77. From here, I’d like to see it initially refill its bearish gap at around $370. Earnings haven’t been too shabby either. In its third quarter, EPS of $1.23 beat by seven cents. Revenue of $1.98 billion – up 15.1% year over year – beat by $10 million.
Moving forward, the company expects fourth-quarter billings to range from $3.43 billion to $3.48 billion, which is a year-over-year growth range of 9% to 10%. It also expects to see total revenue of $2.15 billion to $2.17 billion, as compared to estimates of $2.16 billion.
JPMorgan just raised its price target on PANW to $340, with an overweight rating. KeyBanc also raised its price target to $384 with an overweight rating.
Even better, Palo Alto and IBM (NYSE:IBM) just partnered to develop and sell artificial intelligence-powered security solutions for the digital world.
CyberArk (CYBR)
After bottoming out at around $225, CyberArk (NASDAQ:CYBR) is starting to pivot higher. It’s also another one of the top cybersecurity stocks to buy today.
Last trading at $249.70, if it can break above its 50-day moving average, it could rally to $265 next. Helping, it just acquired Venafi from Thoma Bravo for $1.54 billion in cash.
“This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone for CyberArk, enabling us to further our vision to secure every identity – human and machine – with the right level of privilege controls,” said Matt Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, CyberArk.
CYBR earnings have also been impressive. In its first quarter, the company posted EPS of 75 cents, which beat by 48 cents. Revenue of $221.6 million – up 37% year over year – beat by $8.38 million. The subscription portion of its annual recurring revenue (ARR) jumped 54% to $621 million year over year. Even total ARR jumped 69% to $156.2 million.
It also raised its outlook on total revenue for the second quarter. It now expects total revenue to range from $215 million to $221 million, which is 22% to 26% growth. For the full-year, it expects for total revenue to range from $928 million to $938 million, or 23% to 25% growth.
On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
