Morgan Stanley analysts recently predicted a rise in cybersecurity spending, which is good news for major companies like Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS), Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Despite a slow start this year, analyst Hamza Fodderwala believes things will pick up by the end of the year. He expects Zscaler and Palo Alto Networks, in particular, to benefit from this uptick.
On the other hand, Microsoft continues to expand its market share in numerous cybersecurity sectors, benefiting from vendor consolidation. Fodderwala believes that customers’ concerns about vendor consolidation haven’t hampered demand yet. However, the report also highlighted concerns; spending in Europe appears cautious after showing resilience earlier, and a decline in sectors like retail, tech, and telecom could adversely affect Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA), CheckPoint (NASDAQ:CHKP), and CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD).
Which is the Best Cybersecurity Stock to Buy?
Overall, of the aforementioned cybersecurity stocks, it appears that Wall Street expects the most upside from Fortinet. This is based on a Strong Buy rating and a $76.27 per share price target, which implies almost 30% upside potential from current levels.
