- Citing a 70% YTD rally, UBS' Brent Thill has downgraded FireEye (FEYE -3%) to Neutral. Symantec (SYMC -1.5%), which is down 7% YTD, has been cut to Sell. Buy ratings have been reiterated (and targets hiked) for Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, and a neutral rating reiterated for Check Point.
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Discussing cybersecurity stocks in general (HACK -0.1%), Thill (though still positive about end-market demand) argues the easy money has already been made following big 2015 gains fueled by well-publicized hacking incidents and rising corporate security IT spend. "All key players will lap a combination of tough comps and escalating execution expectations that will narrow the margin for error on the stocks."
- Separately, FireEye (hired to probe many a cyberattack) has identified a Chinese group it believes carried out a giant federal personnel records hack. FireEye: "Unlike other actors operating in China who conduct industrial espionage or steal defense technology, this group has primarily targeted [personally identifiable information]."