Shares of cybersecurity software stocks CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), and Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) were falling today, down 2.1%, 1.1%, and 1.3% as of 1:49 p.m. ET, even though the broader Nasdaq Composite was up by about 1.5% at that time. Furthermore, each of these stocks were down much more than that at the beginning of the day before recovering.

What caused the weakness in the cybersecurity segment specifically? Likely, it had to do with another cybersecurity peer giving cautious guidance on Tuesday night, casting a pall over the sector on Wednesday.

There wasn't much company-specific news to cause these stocks to fall. Yesterday, Palo Alto announced the closing of its acquisition of Cider Security, a leader in software application protection. However, that was announced yesterday, and today's across-the-board declines likely points to something macroeconomic or industry-specific today.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com