In this article, we will take a look at the 11 Best Performing Cybersecurity Stocks So Far in 2025.
While the Trump administration’s shifting tariff policy, which includes the announcement of steep tariffs followed by a 90-day pause on many import taxes, has prompted some economists to predict a recession within the next year, financial analysts believe the cybersecurity sector could prove to be relatively resilient. Wedbush Securities analysts see cybersecurity as a “defensive” investment that can help investors weather what they call an impending “Category 5 storm.” Another tailwind for the industry comes in the form of increased cyberthreat activities following economic downturns. These add to the momentum of rising cyberattacks expected by analysts for this year.
Although tariffs are projected to have a minimal direct impact on cybersecurity, as most of companies in the industry focus on services rather than physical products, Sonu Shankar, chief product officer of Phosphorus Cybersecurity, an IoT security company, points out that as other industries suffer financial strain and restrict their budgets, spending on security may also face cuts.
As companies go through an increasingly complicated cyber threat landscape, keeping up with developing cybersecurity trends has become critical. According to McKinsey, global spending on cybersecurity products and services hit the $200 billion mark in 2024, a significant increase from $140 billion in 2020, as the number and sophistication of attacks increase. In addition, the cybersecurity industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 12.4% between 2024 and 2027, surpassing historical growth rates as firms ramp up efforts to combat evolving threats.
Cybersecurity has undoubtedly grown in relevance as more government services and data become digitized, according to Samir Jain, vice president of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a non-profit that promotes digital rights and freedom of speech. Moreover, as cyber attacks become more complex, the demand for trained workers has increased drastically, with cybersecurity companies forecasting that over 3.5 million cybersecurity roles would remain vacant by 2025. As a result, there are calls for broadening recruiting processes to expand the candidate pool.
Our Methodology
For this list, we sifted through financial media reports and identified cybersecurity stocks that were popular among elite hedge funds and favored by analysts. We then checked their year-to-date performance and selected the 11 best performing stocks from our initial pool of 35 popular stocks. The names on this list appear in ascending order of their year-to-date performance, as of April 25.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
11. Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 3.41%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR) is an Israeli systems software company that offers cybersecurity and application delivery solutions for cloud, on-premises, and software-defined data centers globally. In its Q1 2025 report, Forrester Wave: Web Application Firewall Solutions named Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR) a Strong Performer. The report emphasized the company’s top scores in six key categories, including detection models, product roadmap, price flexibility, and transparency.
On March 5th, Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR) entered into a managed security service provider (MSSP) agreement with CHT Security, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s largest telecom, Chunghwa Telecom Co. The partnership would allow CHT Security to use Radware Ltd.’s AI-powered Cloud Application Protection Services and DefensePro suite to strengthen its product line and provide clients with next-generation application security.
Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR) also posted robust fourth-quarter 2024 results, exceeding analyst expectations with significant increases in both earnings per share and revenue. The company’s earnings per share climbed to $0.27, beating the forecasted $0.22, while revenues increased to $73 million, exceeding the predicted $70.56 million.
10. Cloudfare, Inc. (NASDAQ:NET)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 5.14%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55
Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) is a cloud-based cybersecurity and website management company that also offers routing and developer security solutions. It operates in numerous main categories, including Security Solutions, Performance Enhancement, Reliability, Zero Trust Infrastructure, and others.
Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) reported $459.9 million in revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024, a 27% increase over the previous year, driven by robust client growth and business adoption. The company’s operating income increased 69% to $67.2 million, while margins improved by 360 basis points to 14.6%.
On April 17, Mizuho upgraded Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) to Outperform, citing improved sales pipelines, rising acceptance of its Workers AI product, and a favorable environment for growth reacceleration in the second half of 2025. Mizuho said partners anticipate an increase in Cloudflare-related business, which supports management’s previous guidance. While macroeconomic uncertainty persists, the brokerage said that Cloudflare’s scalable architecture and emphasis on innovation position it well in the rapidly evolving AI environment.
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We took advantage of recent inflows to add to several of our existing holdings, in which our relative conviction level and attractive valuations warranted an increase in position sizes. Our largest addition was Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET), which offers enhanced security and performance for websites, apps, and software as a service. The company continues reporting solid quarterly results with 28% year-on-year revenue growth and 14.8% non-GAAP operating margins, which increased 210bps year-on-year. A double-digit year-on-year increase in sales productivity has started to benefit EMEA and APAC growth rates. Customer additions were also robust and remaining performance obligations were well ahead of expectations, up 39%. In addition, the company announced the hiring of CJ Desai as President of Product & Engineering, a well-regarded executive that helped build ServiceNow into one of the best software businesses of all time – and a large position in the portfolio. Our relative conviction in Cloudflare warranted adding to our position, given the company’s visionary management team, and stacking S curves or markets that it can address with its platform as it helps companies modernize their networking infrastructure.”
9. Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 6.30%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 61
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT), a global leader in corporate cybersecurity and networking, protects over 700,000 organizations globally, including businesses, service providers, and government agencies. Its services include network firewalls, intrusion prevention, unified threat management, and advanced threat protection systems.
On April 25, Cantor Fitzgerald revised its outlook for Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT), lowering the price target to $100 from $115 while maintaining a neutral rating. The change reflects concerns over the impact of macroeconomic volatility on the company’s sales pipeline, regardless of the strong results expected in the first quarter of 2025. Jonathan Ruykhaver from Cantor Fitzgerald cited key trends in cybersecurity and AI as generating healthy demand throughout the first quarter of 2025. However, he noted a shift in the business climate beginning in April, with partners reporting tighter spending conditions as a result of recent macroeconomic instability. The change is projected to result in delayed agreements, longer sales cycles, and weaker pipelines as Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) approaches the second quarter of the calendar year.
8. F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 6.52%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) is a multi-cloud application delivery and security solutions company that offers networking, unified, app management, and security solutions. The company also provides training, maintenance, consultancy, and other technical assistance.
F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) recently announced broad cybersecurity updates to the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) that significantly boost organizations’ capacity to detect and address vulnerabilities and threats to AI and other modern applications. The F5 ADSP is one of the only platforms that combines high-performance load balancing and traffic management with comprehensive app and API security features.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2025, F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) anticipates non-GAAP earnings per share in the $3.02-$3.14 range. Furthermore, the company expects non-GAAP revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 to be between $705 and $725 million. FFIV’s Product segment performance in the fiscal second quarter is expected to have been supported by rising demand for its software solutions, offset by IT budget cuts amid persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.
Hotchkis & Wiley Large Cap Fundamental Value Fund stated the following regarding F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) sells application networking and security software, as well as data center appliances. The company’s stock price rebounded sharply in the second half of the year after reporting a growing pipeline and better close rates in subscription software sales. F5 has no debt, trades at an attractive valuation, and is benefiting from an improving gross margin and lower operating expenses.”
7. Commvault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CVLT)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 7.32%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
Commvault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CVLT) is a data protection and information management software provider. The company offers solutions for data backup and recovery, cloud and infrastructure management, retention, and compliance. Its software platform enables companies to safeguard, access, and use all of their data from any location.
On April 22, DA Davidson reiterated its endorsement of Commvault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CVLT), maintaining a Buy rating and a $195 price target. The firm’s stance follows CommVault’s recent success, which was highlighted by a solid quarterly report that exceeded expectations and an upward revision of future growth projections. Notably, the company’s organic New Net ARR at CC rose to $38 million, up from $37 million in the prior quarter. Furthermore, despite considerable foreign exchange issues, the company’s fiscal year 2025 ARR growth target has been raised upward from 18% to a range of 19-20%. The durability of CommVault’s SaaS ARR growth was also highlighted, with a year-over-year organic gain of 59% at constant currency, compared to 61% in the prior quarter.
6. Cognyte Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGNT)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 14.34%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
Cognyte Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGNT) is a cybersecurity data analytics company that provides a range of services, including an analytics platform, network and operational intelligence analytics, and open source and threat intelligence analytics.
On April 3, Evercore ISI analyst Kirk Materne raised his price target for Cognyte Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGNT) to $10 from $7.50 while keeping an In-Line rating. The revision followed Cognyte’s announcement of better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and an initial fiscal year 2026 projection that surpassed expectations. The company’s management is optimistic about the demand environment, noting better visibility and predictability in its business strategy. The company hasn’t seen a decrease in demand due to the present macroeconomic conditions, citing a growing demand for technology to assist intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
The company’s recent earnings call noted a strong rise in net new client additions for fiscal year 2025, with the number doubling year-over-year to 60 new customers. Cognyte Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGNT) also signed a $10 million agreement alongside a number of other seven-figure contracts. However, the total remaining performance obligations (RPO) of $545 million was down around 7% year-over-year, owing mostly to the timing of renewals.
5. Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 15.68%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS), based in San Jose, California, is a well-known cybersecurity company that offers solutions for securing private networks, managing platform access, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
On April 4, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) to Overweight from Neutral, noting solid execution and improving demand patterns that might support a re-rating. The company also boosted its price target to $250 from $220, citing faster billings, strong revenue growth, and greater adoption of Zscaler’s cybersecurity platform. Cantor sees Zscaler as a leader in Zero Trust security, with the potential to generate around 20% revenue growth in the coming years.
Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) reported strong financial results in the fiscal second quarter of 2025, driven by high demand for Zero Trust Security Solutions. The company’s revenue increased by 24% year-over-year to $648 million, crossing analyst estimates.
4. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 17.95%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) develops, designs, and markets enterprise software, providing services such as threat prevention, web security management, and software-defined protection.
On April 24, Truist Securities reiterated its Buy rating on Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) with a price target of $250. The endorsement comes after Checkpoint announced first-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025, which surpassed consensus estimates, owing to a resurgence in product revenue. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.21, slightly higher than the average expectations of $2.19. Revenue rose by 7% year-over-year to $638 million, crossing the expected $636.22 million. Notably, product and licensing revenue increased by 14% to $114.1 million, while security subscription revenue rose by 10% to $290.6 million.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) recently teamed up with cloud security provider Wiz to provide a comprehensive, end-to-end security solution for hybrid cloud environments. The partnership improves risk prioritization, threat prevention, and security automation.
GreensKeeper Asset Management stated the following regarding Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Our third top performer in the quarter was Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) +22.1%. CHKP’s enterprise cyber security solutions continue to gain traction in the market, supported by growing demand for advanced network security. Recently appointed CEO Nadav Zafrir, a pioneer in the Israeli cyber-security market, has bolstered the company’s executive sales force in efforts to accelerate growth. CHKP is well-capitalized, with over $2.5 billion of excess cash on the balance sheet, and continues to actively repurchase its own shares.”
3. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 20.09%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) specializes in cybersecurity solutions, including identity management, threat intelligence, and detection. The company sets itself apart from competitors with its cloud-based Falcon extended detection and response (XDR) platform, which integrates several protection categories (endpoint, cloud workloads, threat intelligence, identity security, and more) into a single ecosystem.
On April 1, Stephens began coverage of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) with an Overweight rating and a $450 price target. Analysts at the firm noted the cybersecurity company’s transition from a leading supplier of modern endpoint security solutions to one of the largest cybersecurity platform providers, noting the company’s scale as a competitive advantage.
According to CrowdStrike’s latest reports, the company’s total revenues increased 25% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Notably, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is seeing hyper-growth in categories such as next-generation Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), identity security, and cloud security, with total category ARR growing by 50% from fiscal 2024.
Aristotle Atlantic Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) provides cybersecurity products and services that offer endpoint protection and threat intelligence solutions, enabling customers to prevent damage from targeted attacks, detect advanced malware and search all endpoints. The company’s open cloud architecture enables it and third-party partners to rapidly innovate, build and deploy new cloud modules that can provide customers with enhanced functionality across a myriad of use cases.
We see the cloud cybersecurity market as positioned to experience strong growth over the next few years, driven by continued migration from on-premises to cloud-based architecture. We believe CrowdStrike can benefit from this trend due to its early-mover advantage, multiple product offerings and native integrations with leading cloud platforms. The increasing threats from state-sanctioned cybercriminals using high-performance computing and AI necessitate higher spending on advanced cybersecurity products. The total addressable market (TAM) is projected to grow significantly over the next four calendar years. Additionally, CrowdStrike’s cloud-native architecture and unified platform approach provide competitive advantages, resulting in high customer retention and widespread adoption of multiple modules.”
2. Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 28.81%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72
Okta Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), a leading identity and access management (IAM) company, provides cloud software that enables organizations to manage and secure user authentication across numerous applications. Its solutions also allow developers to incorporate identity restrictions in applications, websites, online services, and devices.
On March 31, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), rating the stock Overweight and setting a $130 price target. According to the firm, Okta remains a leader in the identity security field, despite recent growth challenges. After a period of solid growth, with a compound annual growth rate of 41.5% from fiscal year 2019 to 2024, Okta’s revenue growth slowed to 15% in fiscal year 2025, with just 10% growth expected in fiscal year 2026. However, the firm believes that new marketing methods centered on upselling and an improved partner ecosystem could improve sales productivity and perhaps lead to better-than-expected performance.
White Brook Capital Partners stated the following regarding Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) was basically unchanged from where we bought it in 2024, although its had a good start to 2025. Okta’s products are used by customers and consumers to manage and secure identities. I believe we acquired shares at an attractive price and look forward to publishing a write up early this year.”
1. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)
Year-to-Date performance as of April 25: 45.14%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) is a data analytics and software company that develops platforms for government agencies, financial institutions, and large corporations to understand massive data sets.
On April 25, UBS analyst Karl Keirstead reiterated Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)’s Neutral rating and maintained a price target of $105. Keirstead’s approach to assessing the company’s resilience in an uncertain economic climate included consulting with Palantir’s commercial and government partners. The feedback indicates that, while Palantir’s business is healthy, it faces potential risks owing to delays in federal negotiations.
NATO stated on April 14 that it had given Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) a contract to use its Maven Smart System for AI-powered military operations. The contract, which was signed on March 25, authorizes the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) to employ a variant of the AI system—Maven Smart System NATO—to assist the transatlantic military organization’s Allied Command Operations strategic command.
In addition, Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) has teamed with Everfox to improve software solutions for classified network settings, with an emphasis on joint and integrated command and control operations. The partnership seeks to deliver real-time intelligence processing and a uniform data environment for complicated network requirements.
While we acknowledge the potential for PLTR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PLTR but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
