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Morning Report: WannaCry Bolsters Cybersec Stocks, Perhaps Warming Waters For Security Unicorns

Morning Report: Public security firms get a boost from an exploit that impacted firms around the world. For cyber-security unicorns looking to go public, the water may have just gotten warmer. 

Due to a Windows exploit called WannaCry, hospitals and other firms around the world have had a tumultuous time getting sensitive data back into safe hands. But for public cyber security companies, the success and scale of ransomware exploits prove their need, boosting stock prices in response.

Here are the numbers provided to us by Fortune’s Lucinda Shen:

By early Monday, the cyber security ETF, which tracks 40 companies in the industry, rose 3.3% in trading, beating the S&P 500’s 0.5% pop in the same day. Its five biggest constituents are Cisco(which rose 2.8%), Symantec (4%), Check Point Software(2.4%), Juniper Networks(0%), and Palo Alto Networks(3.7%).

Compared to the estimated $50,000 the WannaCry hackers pulled in from its ransomware scheme, Wall Street and its cyber security cohort are the winners—at least financially and to the expense of innocent users worldwide. It could also spell good news for the glut of cyber security startups that have yet to go public.

According to the Crunchbase Unicorn leaderboard, there are at least 6 cyber-security unicorns waiting to exit:

The public market boost must be welcome news for all cyber-security unicorns, but especially so for Tanium. The company has been rumored to be on an IPO path since last Fall. And given the relatively warm embrace 2017’s crop of unicorns have received from the public markets, now may be the best time for some security firms to make their offerings known.

Of course, these unicorns will also want to make sure that their own security issues are on lock first.

From the Crunchbase Daily:

VMware buys Apteligent

  • VMware announced that it has acquired Apteligent, a provider of app performance monitoring and analytics. The six-year-old, San Francisco-based company previously raised close to $50 million in venture funding.

Notion Capital closes on $220M for two Europe funds

  • Notion Capital, a London-based technology venture firm, has raised $140 million for its third early stage fund, which will focus on European enterprise software startups. The firm also raised $80 million for a growth fund to back later stage rounds for portfolio companies.

Symphony raises $63M for secure communications

  • Symphony, a provider of secure messaging and collaboration tools widely used in the financial services industry, closed on $63 million in a new round led by BNP Paribas. This latest investment brings total funding for Palo Alto, Calif.-based Symphony to more than $230 million.

IPOs pops turn to plummets

  • Snap and Twilio posted big first-day gains after going public, but shares have fallen sharply in wake of disappointing earnings. This pattern of stock price pops and plummets calls into question the notion that hot companies leave money on the table by initially underpricing shares, a Crunchbase News analysis contends.

Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Crunchbase Daily.

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