It seems like every day we hear about another data breach at a major company or hackers taking over websites and holding them ransom. Just last week, hackers tried to break into Parliament records in Britain. With the attacks seemingly never ending, now is a good time to look into cybersecurity stocks.
When I first started to research for this post, I was amazed at how many firms out there are battling hackers. But after doing some analysis, it became clear to what cybersecurity stocks were the best of the bunch and worth investing in.
Below you will find the top 3 cybersecurity stocks you should be investing your money in.
Top 3 Stocks You Should Own
#1. Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC)
You probably have heard of Symantec. They are the creator of Norton Anti-Virus, which many individuals have running on their personal computers. In fact, Symantec is the only pure play of the cybersecurity stocks out there. This is because they do business with both individuals and businesses.
And see just how large of a footprint they have in the corporate world, Norton products are used in 70% of the global Fortune 500 companies.
Now the stock has suffered in recent years. As people shunned personal computers, Symantec took a hit to their bottom line. They tried some strategic moves that backfired, but have seemed to find their ground recently.
They first purchased LifeLock. This is an identity theft firm that for a small monthly fee, will monitor and protect users personal information.
Then they purchased BlueCoat, which offers security to networks and cloud applications.
These two additions to the bottom line will help Symantec grow. In fact, the company is holding firm on their full-year outlook. When they recently reported earnings, revenue matched estimates but was an increase of 35% compared to last year. Earnings per share also met estimates, coming in at $0.28.
What is the major issue right now with Symantec? Costs. They need to start a cost cutting plan after these acquisitions so that they can increase their profit margin and really start making a lot of money. Management knows this and is starting to work on a plan. As such, now is a good time to get in.
#2. FireEye (NASDAQ:FEYE)
FireEye is one of the cyberseurity stocks I had never heard of. But after learning about them, I am impressed. The company focuses on zero-day attacks. To anyone not in this field, that means they find holes in security that where unknown to cybersecurity firms at the time.
Earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.09 but this beat estimates by $0.17. Revenue came in at $173 million, which beat estimates by $10 million and was an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.
The reason to like FireEye is that it is growing and more and more hackers are breaking into systems using zero day attacks. As FireEye grows its network, it will be even better equipped at finding these holes and patching them before any harm is done.
Finally, FireEye is a Department Of Homeland Security certified technology partner.
#3. Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT)
Fortinet focuses its power to helping small, medium and large size companies protect their systems from attacks. The company offers protection in the form of anti-malware, anti-virus, virtual private networks, firewalls and application controls.
With the rapid pace Fortinet is signing up new clients, this is a stock you want to get into now. When they reported earnings recently, revenue was up 20% compared to last year and net income was up 410%. That isn’t a typo.
In fact, when it comes to earnings, Fortinet matched or beat estimates every quarter since 2014, and all signs point to this trend continuing.
The company reaffirmed guidance for the full year as well.
Final Thoughts
The threat of hackers on our computer systems is not going away. So while these cybersecurity stocks will pop when news breaks of another attack, know that these companies are good investments for the long term.
There will always be a need to protect both individual and corporate computer systems and these 3 companies are poised to be able to offer the best protection out there.
This author has no positions in any stock mentioned and does not plan to open any positions in any stocks mentioned for at least 72 hours after publication of this article.