It has been a record year... for cyber extortion. Orange Cyberdefense data, detailed in a Bloomberg article this week, reveal that there have been four straight quarters of increased corporate victims of hacks and financial blackmails. Major recent cyberattacks include those on MGM Grand, Clorox, Boeing, and China’s ICBC just this year alone. It is all good news for companies engaged in protecting against the increasing threat of large-scale ransomware attacks, among other tech-based crimes.
While shares of CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks have been strong lately, investors can play the trend at a higher level through the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR). The $5.9 billion fund has a moderate 0.60% expense ratio, and it pays a modest 0.3% dividend yield. The issuer notes that the portfolio’s price-to-earnings ratio is lofty at 27.7x, but Morningstar reports that the ETF’s long-term earnings growth rate is respectable near 10%. To boot, you also get some semiconductor chip exposure, too.
For traders, CIBR’s momentum has been off the charts lately. Up seven weeks in a row, the basket of cybersecurity names has risen from the low $40s to the mid-
50S
as we head into 2024. A key thematic play, with fundamental strength (see CrowdStrike’s earnings late last month), I see the potential for CIBR to continue to rally, though shares have historically consolidated over the first 10 weeks of the year. As it stands, I see support between $47 and $48 with another layer of potential buying activity coming into play at $43. On the upside, keep your eye on the November 2021 all-time high just shy of $57.
The ETF successfully held its rising 200-day moving average earlier this quarter, and the breakout through $47 projects a measured move price objective to $58 based on the rounded bottom formation from Q2 this year to the December near-term breakout. With a daily RSI north of 86, we could see CIBR cool off, but the broader trend remains constructive in my view, and new all-time highs are certainly in play over the coming weeks.
While shares of CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks have been strong lately, investors can play the trend at a higher level through the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR). The $5.9 billion fund has a moderate 0.60% expense ratio, and it pays a modest 0.3% dividend yield. The issuer notes that the portfolio’s price-to-earnings ratio is lofty at 27.7x, but Morningstar reports that the ETF’s long-term earnings growth rate is respectable near 10%. To boot, you also get some semiconductor chip exposure, too.
For traders, CIBR’s momentum has been off the charts lately. Up seven weeks in a row, the basket of cybersecurity names has risen from the low $40s to the mid-
50S
as we head into 2024. A key thematic play, with fundamental strength (see CrowdStrike’s earnings late last month), I see the potential for CIBR to continue to rally, though shares have historically consolidated over the first 10 weeks of the year. As it stands, I see support between $47 and $48 with another layer of potential buying activity coming into play at $43. On the upside, keep your eye on the November 2021 all-time high just shy of $57. The ETF successfully held its rising 200-day moving average earlier this quarter, and the breakout through $47 projects a measured move price objective to $58 based on the rounded bottom formation from Q2 this year to the December near-term breakout. With a daily RSI north of 86, we could see CIBR cool off, but the broader trend remains constructive in my view, and new all-time highs are certainly in play over the coming weeks.