24/7 Wall St.

Cybersecurity has become an increasingly important issue that companies have to address as they continue to develop new platforms and mobile apps. Hackers have been able to steal credit card and personal information from major companies like Equifax, JPMorgan and Home Depot. As a result, cybersecurity has become more necessary, and instead of developing a dedicated department within a company, most opt to hire a third-party cybersecurity firm.

What is interesting here is that many investors think cybersecurity is the next area in technology that needs real consolidation.

The December 29 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in most of these selected cybersecurity stocks decreased.

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) saw its short interest decrease to 21.06 million shares from the previous reading of 22.19 million. Shares were last seen trading at $14.97, in a 52-week range of $10.35 to $18.00.

The short interest at CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR) dropped to 0.75 million shares from the previous level of 0.83 million. Shares were trading at $42.63, within a 52-week range of $39.34 to $55.65.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.’s (NASDAQ: CHKP) short interest increased to 7.77 million shares from the previous reading of 7.31 million. Shares were trading at $103.14, in a 52-week range of $87.70 to $119.20.

The number of Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) shares short was 4.75 million. The previous level was 5.22 million. Shares were trading at $153.06, within a 52-week range of $107.31 to $157.65.

Fortinet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: FTNT) short interest decreased to 4.65 million shares from its previous reading of 5.07 million. Shares were trading at $44.10, in a 52-week trading range of $31.36 to $45.64.