Fortinet, Tenable lead cybersecurity higher as Wedbush praises duo after Q4 results
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Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) and Tenable (NASDAQ:TENB) led cyber security stocks higher on Wednesday as investment Wedbush Securities praised the duo after they reported strong fourth-quarter results and guidance for 2023. 
Analyst Dan Ives, who has an outperform rating on both Fortinet (FTNT) and Tenable (TENB), noted the two showed continued strength in the federal spending area as well as commercial enterprise.
Regarding Fortinet (FTNT), Ives said the results were "generally solid," even if there was a slight miss in revenue compared to expectations, but that other metrics were well above Wall Street expectations.
"Although, Fortinet is held to a higher standard by the Street given the company's history of large beats stacking against its competitors, we believe this performance and outlook were bullish not just for Fortinet but as a barometer on overall cyber security spending with many bears waiting for a huge stumble out of the gates," Ives wrote in a note to clients.
Ives added billings growth, strong free cash flow performance and a "formidable" business model make Fortinet (FTNT) "attractive" at these levels.
He boosted his per-share price target to $70 from $64 following the results.
Fortinet (FTNT) rose nearly 14% to $61.21 in early trading on Wednesday. 
On Tenable (TENB), Ives said the most important takeaway from the results was the "solid" guidance for 2023, increasing confidence going into the new fiscal year.
"It's clear that Tenable is gaining a bigger foothold in enterprise and federal deal flow which adds to the confidence for the 2023 growth story," Ives wrote.
Tenable (TENB) expects first-quarter revenue to be between $186M and $188M, compared t expectations of $190.9M, while full-year revenue is expected to be between $800M and $810M, compared to expectations of $815.8M. 
Tenable (TENB) tacked on 3.6% to $44.99 in early trading.
Other cyber security stocks moved higher on back of the results, Zscaler (ZS), CyberArk Software (CYBR), Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW).
Late last month, Wells Fargo listed Tenable (TENB) among its top "tactical ideas" in the cybersecurity space.