October is cybersecurity awareness month, so we bring you technical pictures for a handful of cyber leaders that could fit within your portfolio.
October is cybersecurity awareness month. Cybersecurity takes on a whole new meaning for many of us as we move throughout the decade, with the likes of AI taking on a more prominent role when it comes to how scams take place in our growing financial world. As much of a role as artificial intelligence takes in actually running the scams your clients face day in and day out, it also takes an ever-growing role in protecting your clients from losing their nest egg from the next “hot stock” that comes across Gemini’s desk. All that to say, using AI to protect clients from the possible harms that other, more malicious actors can bring to their everyday lives is mission critical when it comes to end-of-year conversations… meaning you need to be able to evaluate cybersecurity stocks quickly and correctly.
To help you, the NDW analyst team has put together a “cheat sheet” for many of the large cybersecurity focused names as of 10/13/26. To start broadly, we will analyze the First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR), which focused on those companies engaged in the cybersecurity segment of the technology and industrials sectors. It includes companies primarily involved in the building, implementation, and management of security protocols applied to private and public networks, computers, and mobile devices in order to provide protection of the integrity of data and network operations. It focuses on both core constituents (those which provide products, services, and/or solutions including application security, data security, endpoint security, identity & access management, networking security, and security observability) or those which are more complimentary (that offer products, services, and/or solutions including consultants, contractors, and managed service providers that implement cybersecurity solutions for clients. Point being, these names focus on protecting your clients-among the entire financial system- from the ever-growing threat of cyber attacks. Up over 50% so far in 2026, market participants have proved that this has been an area to focus on, seeing CIBR earn a near-perfect 5.88 fund score as of the time of this writing. Sitting on a buy signal near all-time highs, the fund has erupted off a poor fund score in early 2026 to sit in strong territory around $110 on its default chart. Those looking for exposure should feal confident around current levels, with support nearby in the mid-$90s. A makeshift trendline would also point to major support around that area.
For those of you looking for more focused exposure to the space, you might be interested in a handful of technical reads on the underlying names within the fund. Crowdstrike (CRWD) has perked up nicely after the software Armageddon earlier in 2026… seeing it more than double in 2026 (over triple off its 2026 lows at $86). It is current rated a strong buy as of 10/13. While the magnitude of upside participation has been swift, it remains in somewhat actionable territory with an OBOS reading of just 44%. Just a side note…. CRWD ranked in the 337th position within NDW’s top 500 large cap matrix as of 5/1, now sitting in the 5th position halfway through October. Astute managers might have realized the 385 X count signaling intense near-term strength as of that May date. For those of you looking for similar ideas might point to the likes of ADP (ADP, 3/5 TA score, 386 X count) CBOE Global Markets (CBOE, 342 X count), Strategy (MSTR, 4/5 TA score, 426 X count). Many of you calling into the analyst line ask for the 3’s that are “bound to become a 4 or 5”. While there is no such thing as a guarantee, it can often behoove you to search within the middle of these major matrices for large names with intense near-term strength (X count) for emerging ideas. Remember to set quick stop losses for these high momentum names in the event they turn against you. Getting back to Crowdstrike, it remains a high attribute name you could look towards for an already established name within the cyber space. Important points to watch are included below.
Datadog DDOG also provides an interesting technical picture, having pulled back off all-time highs after rattling of a string of three consecutive buy signals on its default chart. It remains a strong 5/5’er and appears to be a real winner within the software space after establishing a new major support level above $200. Those of you looking for exposure should feel confident to pick up exposure around these levels. As we wrap up the commentary for today, the cyber security review also provides us an intense reminder that not all names are created equal. Of the 47 members of CIBR, nine of the constituents hold a poor attribute score and should not be considered. Avoid the likes of BAH, LDOS, VRNS, AKAM, GEN, CHKP, IBM, INFY, or OTEX until further improvement is shown. As always, keep the technical attribute front of mind when evaluating client positions, especially when participation remains quite narrow heading into the final quarter of 2026.
