3 Top Cybersecurity Stocks To Watch Right Now
In a time where cyberattacks are increasingly devastating and costly, investors could be turning towards the top cybersecurity stocks. If anything, this part of the stock market has and continues to gain momentum as businesses go digital. While some are gradually returning to offices now, many companies across the globe are still operating remotely. From data breaches and ransomware attacks to even asset theft, organizations are more vulnerable than ever to digital threats. Because of all this, cybersecurity companies, and cybersecurity stocks by extension, would be in the spotlight.
For the most part, the surge in cyber crimes does line up with the recent wave of digital acceleration seen throughout the pandemic. Back in December 2020, the world was put on high alert following the catastrophic SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI) hack. Since then, ongoing investigations have revealed that a wide array of federal and private organizations were targeted. Fast forward half a year later and hackers appear to be targeting critical infrastructure now. Namely, the hacks on the Colonial Pipeline company and the JBS (OTCMKTS: JBSAY) company are the most recent examples. Just this week, U.S. authorities revealed that they were able to recover $2.3 million in Bitcoin paid as ransom in the Colonial Pipeline hack.
Indeed, as cybercriminals grow bolder, cybersecurity companies are also stepping up to the plate. Just last month, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) expanded on its existing partnership with Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) cloud division. After introducing more security service integrations, they can now provide joint enterprise customers with greater threat visibility across cloud workloads. All in all, things appear to be heating up on the digital security front. For investors looking to bet on cybersecurity now, here are three companies to know in the stock market today.
Cybersecurity Stocks To Watch Right Now
- Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG)
- Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS)
- Check Point Software Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: CHKP)
Datadog Inc.
To begin with, we will be looking at Datadog. In brief, the company mainly operates via its proprietary monitoring and security platform for cloud applications. Datadog’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform provides a comprehensive and automated tech stack of monitoring functions. This includes infrastructure monitoring, application performance monitoring, and log management services. Notably, all of these components of its SaaS model work together to deliver unified, real-time observability to Datadog’s customers. The likes of which include organizations of all sizes and across various industries. Given its preventative cybersecurity offerings, companies would look to Datadog as a possible first line of defense now. In turn, I could see investors watching DDOG stock now because of this.
Just last month, the company posted solid figures in its first-quarter fiscal. In particular, Datadog raked in total revenue of $198.5 million for the quarter, marking a 51% year-over-year jump. On top of that, the company also reported a 90% increase in cash on hand over the same time as well. Moving forward, CEO Olivier Pomel said, “Businesses are planning for a post-pandemic world. Digital transformation projects are being prioritized, as the need to be digital-first and agile is more prominent than ever. We believe we are in a strong position to benefit from this trend as the most complete and cloud-native end-to-end observability platform.” Given its healthy financial position and current momentum, Datadog appears to be kicking into high gear now.
On the operational front, the company remains hard at work as well. As of last month, the company is currently a launch partner with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Web Services (AWS). Specifically, Datadog’s platform now fully supports application monitoring with the AWS App Runner. Given all of this, would you consider DDOG stock worth investing in now?
Zscaler Inc.
Following that, we have IT security company Zscaler. The California-based company primarily works through its Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange (ZTE) platform. Simply put, ZTE connects users directly to company applications, providing fast and secure experiences. With the ZTE platform, the company also protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss regardless of location. For a sense of scale, Zscaler’s platform is distributed across 150 data centers worldwide. According to the company, this would make Zscaler ZTE the world’s largest in-line cloud security platform. Despite all of this, ZS stock has mostly been trading sideways this year. Could it be worth jumping on now?
Well, for one thing, the company continues to bolster its services amidst these critical times. As of late May, Zscaler is in a definitive agreement to acquire Smokescreen Technologies, an active defense and deception tech firm. In detail, Smokescreen’s tech will be integrated into the Zscaler’s ZTE platform. Ideally, this would further expand the precision of the company’s detection software, making it more sensitive to sophisticated cyberattacks. If that wasn’t enough, Smokescreen’s tech will also provide “threat intelligence” and telemetry for the Zscaler team to proactively scan for possible breaches.
In terms of finances, Zscaler also reported its recent quarter fiscal at the end of May. To point out, the company posted quarterly revenue of $176.4 million. This adds up to a solid 59% year-over-year increase. Moreover, the company also saw its calculated billings surge by 71% over the same period. With Zscaler raising its fiscal year guidance, would you say that now is a good time to buy ZS stock?
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Check Point Software Technologies Ltd
Another name to know in the cybersecurity space now would be Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP). Similar to our previous entries, the company is a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions now. More importantly, the key difference is its government clientele. Through its Infinity portfolio of solutions, the company protects public and private organizations from cyberthreats with industry-leading malware elimination software.
While CHKP stock has not been among the most active stocks, CHKP does not seem to be slowing down. To highlight, the company recently received recognition from tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Particularly, CHKP received the Microsoft Security 20/20 award for the Most Transformative Integration Partner. No doubt, this recognition among global contenders would demonstrate CHKP’s excellence in the field. According to CHKP head of cloud, Erez Yarkoni, the duo provides “one of the most advanced threat prevention solutions” to Microsoft Azure customers.
Back in April, the company saw green across the board in its first-quarter fiscal as well. In it, CHKP posted total revenue of $507.6 million with earnings per share of $1.33. CEO Gil Shwed highlighted the increasingly dangerous cyber threat landscape as a key growth driver moving forward. Shwed also mentioned that CHKP’s Infinity architecture would address the need for comprehensive cybersecurity measures during the current “cyber pandemic”. Having read all this, will you be adding CHKP stock to your portfolio this week?
