You didn’t expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to just shrug at Western sanctions that now include theU.S. Treasury clamping serious restrictions on Russia’s central bank, did you?
Putin has banned all Russian residents from transferring hard currency abroad, including for servicing foreign loan contracts. Russia has $478 billion in external debt. Much of that is now in danger of default. (It’s not clear to me how this helps the Russian economy. Anyone want to lend or do business with a country that says, “Hey, forget about getting paid?)
The steps, which take effect March 1, are part of a package of retaliatory measures for U.S. and European sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine. They also include restrictions on companies buying back their own stock.
Today in New York trading, it’s clear that U.S. traders and investors don’t think these moves are Putin’s last. Cybersecurity stocks are soaring. And why not since Russia and it hacker gangs are about to demonstrate exactly why everybody needs to buy more security software.
As of noon New York time, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) was up 2.82%. CrowdStrike (CRWD) was higher by 7.43%. And SentinelOne (S) had climbed 5.71%.
I already own CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks in my online portfolios. (And don’t forget OKTA (OKTA), up 2.36% today.) In this situation, though, it’s hard to say that I own enough of the sector. Today, I’m adding shares of SentinelOne to my Jubak Picks Portfolio with a target price of $53. At noon on Monday the shares traded at $40.67.
