Cyberattacks spur this stock

Article Excerpt

NORTONLIFELOCK INC. $27 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol NLOK; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 581.9 million; Market cap: $15.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.0; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nortonlifelock.com) has two main businesses: Norton computer antivirus software; and LifeLock identity-theft protection. NortonLifeLock will soon complete its acquisition of European cybersecurity firm Avast plc for $8 billion. Avast makes both free and premium security software for consumers such as desktop security, and server and mobile-device protection. The company has 435 million active users, and its 2020 revenue was roughly $893 million. Meantime, more people working from home has spurred a jump in cyberattacks, and so NortonLifeLock has continued to attract new customers. Revenue in the quarter ended December 31, 2021, rose 9.9%, to $702 million from $639 million a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, per-share earnings climbed 15.8%, to $0.44 from $0.38. NortonLifeLock is a buy. buy…