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The 10 constituents in the munKNEE Cybersecurity Software Stocks Index were UP 105.9% in 2023, on average, and that is expected to continue in 2024 given the anticipated 14% increase in spending on cyber security in 2024 and their performances last week reflected that advancing 10.1%, on average, and are now UP 5.2% MTD, on average.

Below is how each constituent performed last week, in descending order, and YTD, plus its current price-to-earnings ratio, the consensus rating price targets of the analysts following the stock with its variance from the current stock price and any recent news, commentary, and/or analysis on each company.

1. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): UP 15.0% last week; UP 11.0% YTD
   • provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware, and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection as well as DNS, Internet of Things, SaaS, API, and SaaS security inline, and threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.
   • Current PE ratio: 60.3 (Very High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 37
   • Consensus Rating: Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $278.06
   • Variance from Current Price: 15.7% below 
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why
2. CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD): UP 14.5% last week; UP 11.0% YTD
   • is focused on cloud-native solutions and AI-driven threat detection and a leader in endpoint security.
   • Current PE ratio: 96.9 (Very High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 36
   • Consensus Rating: Strong Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $230.46
   • Variance from Current Price: 16.4% below
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • Will CrowdStrike Be a $1 Trillion Company By 2030?
3. Zscaler (ZS): UP 10.0% last week; UP 4.2% YTD
   • is a cloud security company that prevents cyberthreats and data loss while providing users with fast, reliable zero trust connectivity to apps from anywhere.
   • Current PE ratio: 93.8 (Very High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 64
   • Consensus Rating: Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $234.16
   • Variance from Current Price: 4.2% above
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • Zscaler (ZS) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
4. Tenable Holdings (TENB): UP 9.7% last week; UP 2.2% YTD
   • provides organizations with a broad range of cyber security solution platforms.
   • Current PE ratio: 67.1 (Very High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 14
   • Consensus Rating: Strong Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $53.86
   • Variance from Current Price: 14.8% above
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • Why Tenable Holdings Stock Crushed the Market on Tuesday
5. Varonis Systems (VRNS); UP 9.5% last week; UP 2.8% YTD
   • provides security products that manage network events in real-time to detect any breaches or threats and expanded its support for Microsoft's Office 365 platform in November 2023 by adding new features to protect against malicious emails.
   • Current PE ratio: 144.0 Extremely High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 15
   • Consensus Rating: Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $40.29
   • Variance from Current Price: 10.7% below
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • Varonis Named a Leader in GigaOm's 2023 Radar Report for Data Security Platforms
6. Qualys (QLYS): UP 7.1% last week; DOWN 1.6% YTD
   • offers a complete set of cybersecurity products for small businesses that use Amazon.com's Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform.
   • Current PE ratio: 37.6 (High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 13
   • Consensus Rating: Hold
   • Consensus Price Target: $140.25
   • Variance from Current Price: 27.8% below
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • Calculating The Fair Value Of Qualys
7. SentinelOne (S): UP 7.0% last week; DOWN 7.7% YTD
   • is a global leader in AI security using its Singularity™ Platform to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber attacks enabling organizations to secure endpoints, cloud workloads, containers, identities, and mobile and network-connected devices with speed, accuracy, and simplicity.
   • Current PE ratio: 93.8 (Very High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 26
   • Consensus Rating: Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $21.15
   • Variance from Current Price: 13.6% below
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • SentinelOne Positioned as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms for Third Consecutive Year
8. Fortinet (FTNT): UP 7.0% last week; UP 6.7% YTD
   • provides a wide range of cybersecurity and networking solutions
   • Current PE ratio: 39.8  (High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 33
   • Consensus Rating: Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $66.04
   • Variance from Current Price: 8.9% above
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • Fortinet (FTNT) Blends Security & Networking to Support Wi-Fi 7
9. CyberArk Software (CYBR): UP 5.8% last week; UP 2.3% YTD
   • enables secure access for any identity to any resource - protecting identities and critical assets by enabling Zero Trust and enforcing least privilege.
   • Current PE ratio: 293.0 (Extremely High)
   • Number of Analysts Following Company: 25
   • Consensus Rating: Strong Buy
   • Consensus Price Target: $218.96
   • Variance from Current Price: 2.4% below
   • Latest News, Commentary, and/or Analysis:
     • 3 Cybersecurity Stocks That Could Make You Much Richer
10. Check Point Software (CHKP): UP 5.1% last week; UP 3.9% YTD
    • offers a multilevel security architecture of cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions.
    • Current PE ratio: 18.8 (Good)
    • Number of Analysts Following Company: 23
    • Consensus Rating: Buy
    • Consensus Price Target: $146.75
    • Variance from Current Price: 7.2% below
    • Latest News, Commentary and/or Analysis:
      • Check Point Software Technologies Stands Out as A Leader and Innovator in Cloud Native Security

Summary

Interestingly, the consensus of the analysts is that the average price target for the above 10 stocks is 10.4% LESS than what has been actually realized to date which exemplifies just how strong the surge is in the cyber security software space.
 

Conclusion

The 10 constituents in the new munKNEE Cybersecurity Software Stocks Index were UP 10.1%, on average, last week but are already UP 5.2% YTD.
 

Cybersecurity ETF

Investing in a basket of cyber security stocks is a quick and easy way to get investment portfolio exposure to this critical segment of the tech sector. The Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG), for example, consists of 31 stocks, has an expense ratio of 0.51% and was UP 8.1% last week and is now UP 2.2% YTD in comparison to the munKNEE Cybersecurity Software Stocks Index.

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