We're all on the hook for a cyberattack, creating a huge opportunity for some of the best cybersecurity stocks to buy in April.
Data centers are still under threat from ransomware attacks, even though they have been under attack for years. That includes businesses, governments, hospitals, schools, and yourself.
The attack on Change Healthcare caused widespread outages to systems used for billing and insurance, leaving patients, doctors, and pharmacists in disarray. ““The disruption of copay assistance and coupon card processing, especially at pharmacies, has highlighted critical vulnerabilities in a system that depends on people's lives,” NBC News added.
This year is a steel giant thyssenkrupp (OTCMKTS:Takamy) announced that hackers had infiltrated the automobile department's systems. All of this forced the shutdown of IT systems.thousands of AT&T (New York Stock Exchange:T) Customers were left without service for hours after the attack.
The US government is also not ready. According to BusinessInsurance.com, “The U.S. General Accounting Office said many federal agencies are not adequately prepared to respond to cybersecurity incidents.” The report found that while 23 chief financial officers at federal agencies are preparing to respond to cybersecurity incidents, 20 are not meeting the requirements. ”
To make matters worse, it's only a matter of time before another major cyberattack hits. Unfortunately, it is no longer a question of whether we will be attacked again. But when that happens, April will create even more opportunities for some of the best cybersecurity stocks.
Crowd Strike (CRWD)
Source: VDB Photo/Shutterstock.com
Since bottoming out around $100 in early 2023, cloud strike (NASDAQ:CRWD) has been on a solid upward trend, with its last trade at $319.09.
Macquarie analysts say CRWD is one of the top cybersecurity companies to benefit most from increased spending following healthcare cyberattacks. With an Outperform rating and $370 price target, the company added, “We believe CrowdStrike's best endpoint security platform is ideally positioned to mitigate ransomware attacks.” Ta.
Even better, JPMorgan thinks CRWD's market cap could reach $100 billion. As cited by Seeking Alpha, the company continues to outperform its competitors thanks to its “data-centric, AI cloud-native, single-agent architecture and efficient go-to-market strategy.” The company has given the stock an “overweight” rating and set a price target of $350 to $371.
Earnings weren't too bad either. In the most recent quarter, the company had adjusted EPS of 95 cents and revenue of $845.3 million. Analysts had expected just 82 cents on $839.96 million. CrowdStrike expects adjusted EPS to be between 89 cents and 90 cents. The company also expects first-quarter sales to be between $902.2 million and $905.8 million. Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of 82 cents on revenue of $898.8 million.
Sentinel One (S)
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one more best CWhich Ebersecurity stocks to buy in April? sentinel one (New York Stock Exchange:S), which ranged from about $28 to $22.54 and currently holds its value. In the near future, I will be looking for it to fill that gap and potentially retest $31.
Meanwhile, the company posted total annual recurring revenue of $724 million, which was slightly less than expected, and the stock price fell.
The company also reported new annual recurring revenue of $61 million, which was also below expectations. Guidance was also conservative, with the company expecting first-quarter sales of $181 million, which was lower than the expected $181.5 million.
However, analysts are defending the stock price.
For example, Bank of America states: [free cash flow] generation. According to management, demand remains healthy and SentinelOne remains focused on customer acquisition, upsell opportunities, and achieving profitability and positive free cash flow. ” he says on Seeking Alpha. The company rates the stock as “buy” and has a price target of $35.
Even better, analysts at WestPark and BTIG just reiterated their buy ratings on the stock.
Global X Cybersecurity ETF (bug)
Or you can diversify at a lower cost. Global X Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ:bug).
Priced at less than $30 and with an expense ratio of 0.50%, this ETF holds 26 stocks that are “capable of increasing adoption of cybersecurity technology, including those whose primary business is developing and managing security protocols to prevent intrusions.'' There are potential benefits.” “It's an attack on systems, networks, applications, computers, mobile devices,” he said of Global X.
Over the past few months, the BUG ETF has soared from about $22.50 to about $31.75. From here, we believe we could see a $40 test in the near term as the cyber situation intensifies. At the moment, the BUG ETF is trading just below $30, but there's a good chance it could climb higher. Some of the top ETFs by holdings include: fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), palo alto (NASDAQ:Panwoo), Octa Co., Ltd.. (NASDAQ:Octa), and Rapid7 Inc.. (NASDAQ:RPD) to name a few examples. The good thing about ETFs is that they can provide ample exposure at a low cost.
On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not have (directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are subject to InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
