9 cybersecurity stocks to watch amid Russia attacking Ukraine: analyst

It’s time to initiate some bullish cyber warfare trades as Russia has invaded Ukraine, Wall Street analysts say.

“With the Ukraine conflict now front and center and poised to widen, we expect a surge of cybersecurity attacks from Russia state-sponsored organizations that could change the game for US/European enterprises and governments over the coming months. With a significantly elevated level of cyberattacks now appearing on the horizon, we believe added growth tailwinds for the cybersecurity sector and well positioned vendors should be a focus sector for tech investors during this market turmoil,” said Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives.

Ives listed nine cybersecurity stocks that could flourish in the current heated environment:

Fair warning to traders, however. It could take a while for these trades to work higher as the broader markets are in full risk-off mode.

Cyber security IT engineer working on protecting network against cyberattack from hackers on internet. Secure access for online privacy and personal data protection. Hands typing on keyboard and PCB — Cybersecurity IT engineer working on protecting network against cyberattack from hackers on internet. Credit: Getty

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures tanked more than 600 points on news Russia has attacked Ukraine. Russia’s main stock index crashed about 45% at the open of trading. The Russian ruble briefly plunged 10%.

Wednesday’s trading session marked the second sloppy close for the markets in a row. The S&P 500 wiped out early advances to trade sharply lower in afternoon trading. By the close of trading, the S&P 500 hovered at an eight-month low. The major index remained in correction zone, accruing a loss of more than 10% from its recent peak.

Roughly 85% of the stocks that comprise the S&P 500 lost value in the sessions.

As for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, only two components finished in the green: Johnson & Johnson and Chevron.

Analysts like Ives still think it’s worth assuming the risk to get in on the cybersecurity trade.

“While the Fed driven risk-off environment remains with now the Ukraine situation adding to the nervousness and market jitters, the underlying growth stories around cybersecurity are unmatched to what we have seen the last decade,” Ives added.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.