Jim Cramer: Palo Alto Networks Is JPMorgan's Best Bet for Cybersecurity

JPMorgan (JPM) expects to double its spending on cybersecurity this year and is accelerating its initial timeline for the spending, according to its quarterly regulatory filing. If true, JPMorgan will spend $500 million this year on preventing cyberattacks like the one the company experienced in the summer of 2014. In last year’s hacking, it was uncovered that 76 million households and seven million small businesses were affected, compared to the one million they had originally projected. With JPMorgan putting all of this capital into cybersecurity, we asked Cramer which cybersecurity stocks looked to benefit. ‘The one that has always stuck out as being the most logical for any bank to be able to contract with is Mark McLaughlin’s Palo Alto Networks (PANW),’ Cramer said. However, Cramer says that Palo Alto Networks is ‘certainly expensive,’ but it is not as expensive as CyberArk (CYBR), which he says is another possible candidate for working with banks on their cybersecurity needs. Cramer did not mention that FireEye (FEYE), who is less expensive than both Palo Alto Networks and CyberArk, would be a contender for the bank’s business. ‘Palo Alto is a momentum horse,’ Cramer said. ‘The way that people perceive a large institution can protect itself is to bring in that company and have a game plan.’