March should be an interesting month for one stock in particular, SentinelOne (S 0.80%).
The cybersecurity stock has struggled since it went public nearly five years ago. Despite an initial jolt higher during the 2021 tech boom when it surpassed $70 per share, it has steadily declined since, down to its current $13.50 per share price.
Over the past 12 months, it has dropped 32%, and year to date it is off 10%.
Image source: Getty Images.
While SentinelOne has had robust revenue growth, rising 23% in the last quarter, its pace of growth is expected to slow in fiscal 2026. Last fiscal year revenue increased 32%, but this fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, revenue is projected to rise only 21%. That is lower than initially guided for.
But this month is an interesting one for SentinelOne and could potentially be a turning point.
New identity protection platform
Over the past couple of weeks, SentinelOne stock has surged about 9% higher, based on a couple of catalysts. The initial catalyst is the rollout of a new platform to thwart identity attacks.
The platform is an expansion and improvement of its identity security offerings. It protects not just human identities, but also those of non-human agentic artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. In addition, its protection goes beyond the gateway, or log-in, and provides continuous runtime validation, meaning it monitors the user throughout the session.
While other competitors offer this service, SentinelOne is one of a few that does so on an AI-native platform, meaning the platform was originally built for AI algorithms. Other much larger competitors bolted on AI capabilities and require the cloud to handle threats.
NYSE: S
Key Data Points
AI native means that the AI brain is built into the device and doesn't rely solely on the cloud, as is the case with many others. That enables quicker and more efficient decisions as the AI-native capability can eliminate threats directly on the device, as opposed to going through the cloud. Also, it works when the device is offline, not just when it's connected to the cloud.
It will be interesting to see if this new offering can boost revenue and make a dent in the market share of leaders like CrowdStrike in endpoint security and Okta and Microsoft in identity protection, among others.
Cybersecurity and geopolitical turmoil
Another reason could be the current geopolitical tensions between Iran and the U.S. Typically, at a time of war or geopolitical unrest, cybersecurity stocks get a boost because investors see them as more in demand as companies, organizations, and government agencies shore up their cyber defenses against potential attacks.
This all comes as SentinelOne gets ready to report its fiscal fourth-quarter and year-end earnings on Thursday, March 12. I'll be watching that closely to see if SentinelOne exceeds or falls short of expectations.
But more importantly, I'll be watching to see what the outlook for the next fiscal year is. It could indicate if this new product, its AI-native advantages, and geopolitical tensions all increase demand for SentinelOne.
