These 3 Cybersecurity Stocks Will Explode as Iran Threatens Cyber Warfare
Cybersecurity stocks such as CrowdStrike are expected to benefit from the cyberattack threat posed by Iran.
Millions of Iranians are mourning the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. Tehran has vowed to avenge the General's death. Cyberattacks are one way they could respond. | Image: ATTA KENARE / AFP
- Iran’s cyberwarfare capabilities have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years.
- The Department of Homeland Security has already issued a warning, telling businesses and other organizations to take precautionary measures.
- Cybersecurity stocks will undoubtedly benefit from increased spending on cyber defense products and services.
As the tensions between the U.S. and Iran heighten following the killing of powerful military commander Qasem Soleimani, cyberattacks are one of the ways Tehran could retaliate. Homeland Security is not taking it lightly. According to the DHS, Iran could deploy “disruptive and destructive cyber operations against strategic targets” in the U.S.
Why cybersecurity stocks are a good bet
Cyberattacks are likely to have a negative impact on the United States, but some companies stand to benefit. Chief among the beneficiaries are likely to be cybersecurity stocks whose products and services are bound to see increased demand. The following three stocks come to mind.
1. CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) rose to prominence last year after being mentioned by President Donald Trump in the famous call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. This was in relation to the company being hired by the Democratic National Committee in 2016.
Incidentally, this occurred just months after the cybersecurity firm IPOed. In a year which saw tech companies such as Uber and Lyft drop significantly below their IPO price, CrowdStrike did the opposite. It debuted the market at $34 and is currently trading at about $54, a gain of nearly 60%. CrowdStrike’s enjoys a market cap of slightly under $12 billion.
Wall Street sees more upside potential for the stock. Per The Wall Street Journal, the consensus rating for the cybersecurity stock is ‘overweight’. With the average stock price target being $78.15, that would be a gain of over 40% from Monday’s close.
2. Cloudflare
One of the better-known services offered by Cloudflare Inc (NYSE:NET) is distributed denial-of-service mitigation. Cloudflare’s offerings are much more diversified, though. The company went public in mid-September and now enjoys a market cap of slightly over $5.24 billion.
The consensus rating for the stock is ‘buy’. If analyst predictions materialize and the stock reaches or exceeds its average stock price target of $21.22, that would represent a gain of about 19%. It closed Monday at $17.68.
3. Zscaler
The strength of Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ:ZS) lies in cloud security. Compared to Cloudflare and CrowdStrike, Zscaler has enjoyed a longer period as a public company. It IPOed in March 2018. From its market debut price of $16, the stock has grown three-fold to hit slightly above $48 and there is more room for growth, according to Wall Street.
It currently enjoys an ‘overweight’ rating from analysts with the average stock price target being $62.21. If the target is hit, investors placing their orders now would stand to gain 29%.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article do not represent investment or trading advice from CCN.com.