On CNBC yesterday, Ritholtz Wealth Management chief executive Josh Brown argued that cybersecurity has acquired a new group of long-term shareholders. His pitch: enterprise AI adoption has created new attack surfaces, driving security budgets beyond any single product cycle. Every technical read that follows is Brown’s, as described on air Tuesday, September 22, 2026, according to CNBC.
Brown’s framing: “I just think that this entire group has built a new fan base in the stock market, because people now understand the AI thing is not going away. Consumer use of these apps and services is starting to explode in the enterprise. It’s already completely embedded. And this is a new threat surface, they call it.”, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management
Fortinet: Brown’s Cleanest Chart
Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT | FTNT Price Prediction) was Brown’s top pick. “This one looks the best of all of them. Technically, this is actually a breakout in progress, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management. This is a clean uptrend since the earnings gap now consolidating. The 50-day is acting as a rising floor. RSI at 58, not yet overbought, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management. I like it right here.” He anchored the read on the 50-day as a rising floor and an RSI of 58, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management.
Fortinet traded at $175.56 in premarket as of 6:25 AM Eastern on September 23, 2026, up 0.74%. Shares are up 121.08% year to date from $79.41 and 14.36% over the past month.
Fortinet’s most recent quarter showed product revenue up 52% and billings up 33%, with adjusted free cash flow reaching $966 million. Chief executive Ken Xie positioned the combined secure networking and unified SASE offering as a “SASE firewall,” a category the company believes can “drive the growth in the next five to ten years.” The Q2 8-K exhibit details the guidance raise anchoring the fundamental case.
Palo Alto Networks: On the List, Off the Chart
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) drew Brown’s least favorable technical read. “Palo Alto, PANW, on the list, but technically does not look as good. We have it hit 400 and now we have this series of lower highs, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management. So it rallies, but then it doesn’t quite get back to that 400 level, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management. And then it can’t get back to 390 and then 380, Brown said. This is frustrating. I don’t like this setup.”, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management
Palo Alto traded at $377.64 in premarket as of 6:30 AM Eastern on September 23, 2026, up 0.82%, below the 380 level Brown flagged. The stock is up 105.02% year to date from $184.20. Brown kept Palo Alto on his list on fundamentals; his objection is to the recent chart. Chief executive Nikesh Arora called fiscal Q4 a “record finish to the fiscal year,” with net new NGS ARR of nearly $1 billion in a single quarter.
Zscaler: Golden Cross From a Weak Base
Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) got a nuanced read. “Zscaler just crossed back above its 200-day for the first time all year, with a golden cross forming right now, 50-day above the 200.” Shares traded at $211.80 in premarket as of 6:30 AM Eastern on September 23, 2026, up 0.77%, according to Ritholtz Wealth Management.
Zscaler spent the year below its 200-day and is down 27.36% over one year and 5.83% year to date, though it has rallied 16.54% in the past month. A golden cross on a stock recovering off a weak base differs from the same pattern at highs. Chief executive Jay Chaudhry told investors “AI is quickly becoming the largest tailwind we have ever seen driving demand for our zero trust everywhere data security and security for AI solutions.”
Smaller Names: SentinelOne and CrowdStrike
Brown flagged SentinelOne (NYSE:S) as a smaller cybersecurity company worth watching. SentinelOne’s most recent quarter showed ARR of $1.22 billion with non-endpoint solutions now accounting for more than half of total ARR. Chief executive Tomer Weingarten pointed to “a top-tier growth profile, accelerating platform adoption, and undisputed technology leadership for both AI for Security and Security for AI.”
Brown also described CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) as showing a classic stair-step pattern of two steps forward then consolidation.
What to Take Away
Brown distinguishes between owning a business and timing entry. Palo Alto is on his list on fundamentals while he dislikes the recent chart. Fortinet is his cleanest setup with the strongest year-to-date performance. Zscaler is recovering rather than breaking out from strength. Treat cybersecurity as a secular AI story rather than a cyclical trade.