Cybersecurity companies seen gaining from Ukraine crisis, Russian network attacks
da-kuk/E+ via Getty Images

As the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine continues to roil markets and industries worldwide, expectations are growing that Moscow may unleash a wave of cyberattacks in order to get revenge against any U.S. and European economic sanctions.
Such attacks should not come as a surprise, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who said in a research note that with the Ukraine conflict "front and center and poised to widen," state-sponsored cyberattacks from Russia stand to increase and cause companies and Western governmental organizations to bulk up on their own security operations. And that should provide a residual benefit to several leading cybersecurity technology providers.
"It's matter when, not if," Ives said. "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."
Among the companies Ives said should gain from the current cyber security situation are Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS), CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ:CRWD), Tenable (NASDAQ:TENB), Varonis (NASDAQ:VRNS), Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), Telos (NASDAQ:TLS), Mandiant (NASDAQ:MNDT) and CyberArk Software (NASDAQ:CYBR).
Ives said that with the Ukraine situation adding to "the nervousness and market jitters," the growth stories for cybersecurity companies "are unmatched [compared] to what we have seen the last decade."
Ives also called Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) one of the likely top beneficiaries of the expected need for new cybersecurity systems and technologies. On Wednesday, Palo Alto (PANW) shares climbed more than 4% in response to the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings results. J.P. Morgan analyst Sterling Auty also raised his rating on Palo Alto Networks' (PANW) shares to neutral from underweight, and lifted his price target on the company's stock to $620 a share from $600. Auty said that, among other things, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is "well positioned to compete for the cloud security opportunity."