Is the Tech Sell-Off Overblown? Wedbush Thinks So — Here Are Its Top Picks

TLDR

• Wedbush warns of another turbulent week ahead for markets due to geopolitical tensions and oil prices above $100
• Firm’s top cybersecurity picks are CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, Check Point Software, and Rubrik
• Analysts say AI is increasing demand for cybersecurity tools, not reducing it
• Wedbush calls the broader software sell-off “overblown” and sees buying opportunities
• Microsoft, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Palantir flagged as disconnected from long-term AI value

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Wedbush is telling investors to look past the current market noise and focus on technology stocks it sees as unfairly beaten down. The firm highlighted cybersecurity as a sector worth watching closely right now.

Analyst Dan Ives and his team put out a note saying markets face another rough week. They cited the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, oil prices topping $100 a barrel, and concerns around a possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as key pressure points.

Despite the turbulence, Wedbush told clients to treat recent price drops as potential buying opportunities, particularly in cybersecurity.

Wedbush’s Top Cybersecurity Stock Picks

The firm named five stocks as its favorites in the cybersecurity space: CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, Check Point Software, and Rubrik.

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., CRWD

Wedbush said these companies are not losing ground to AI. In fact, the analysts argued the opposite is true.

As more companies deploy AI-powered agents and large language models, the need for security tools grows. That includes run-time monitoring, identity governance, zero-trust enforcement, and Security Operations Center automation.

The analysts said AI is becoming the enforcement layer that makes cybersecurity more critical, not less.

CrowdStrike shares were up over 4% on the day the note was published. Rubrik rose nearly 6%.

Software Sell-Off Called Overblown

Wedbush also pushed back on the wider sell-off hitting software stocks. The team said many enterprises are actively rolling out AI across their tech stacks, and that momentum is not showing up in current stock valuations.

The analysts called out Microsoft, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Palantir as names that have sold off too far given their long-term AI monetization potential.

On Palantir specifically, Ives called it one of his team’s top tech picks. He said recent bearish calls, including those from investor Michael Burry, would be “proved emphatically wrong.”

Wedbush also addressed investor fears around OpenAI and Anthropic potentially moving into enterprise software territory. The analysts said this concern is overblown. After speaking with multiple chief information officers in recent weeks, the team said most AI companies are focused on partnerships and workflow integration, not replacing existing enterprise software vendors.

CIOs confirmed that AI adoption is accelerating, with enterprise and department-level use cases expected to launch through 2026. The rapid pace of that rollout, Wedbush said, is what makes cybersecurity stocks particularly attractive right now.

Palo Alto Networks rose roughly 2.5% and Zscaler gained about 2.7% on the day of the note.

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