“The single most consistent theme across our conversations \u2014 partners, vendors, and customers alike \u2014 was that AI agents have fundamentally changed the threat landscape,” analysts at BTIG wrote in a note to clients.<\/p>\n
While AI agents have become the predominant attack threat and the environment is “meaningfully worse,” deployment and AI security tools are only in the “early innings,” they added.<\/p>\n
Businesses are turning to cybersecurity companies for new agentic tools to fend off adversaries in a hyper-accelerated threat landscape fueled by new cyber models. Executives and potential customers gathered in Las Vegas last week in search of answers and ways to secure systems from rogue AI agents.<\/p>\n
BTIG lifted its price target on Palo Alto to $380 a share, reflecting about 4% upside from Friday’s close. Palo’s identity platform stands to benefit from the proliferation of AI agents, while products such as XSIAM and Chronosphere create a “data moat” for other security verticals. <\/p>\n
The firm lifted its price target on CrowdStrike to $237 per share, reflecting 11% upside from Friday’s close, and boosted shares of Rubrik to a $109 per-share target.<\/p>\n
“We think AI is creating a new modernization cycle in the endpoint security space, which directly benefits CRWD’s core business,” they wrote. <\/p>\n
Other cybersecurity stocks rallied, with Rubrik<\/a> last up nearly 9%. Netskope<\/a> and Zscaler<\/a> jumped about 5% each. SailPoint<\/a> and SentinelOne<\/a> each gained 4%.<\/p>\n “AI has moved from being a cybersecurity feature to a key pillar of both the attack surface and the attacker\/defender infrastructure,” wrote analysts at Cantor. <\/p>\n Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Palo Alto Networks and Crowdstrike stock chart.<\/p>\n![\"hide](\"https:\/\/static-redesign.cnbcfm.com\/dist\/a54b41835a8b60db28c2.svg\")
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