Mega-cap tech is oversold and cybersecurity stocks will soar as firms beef up against Russian threats, Wedbush's Dan Ives says

• As Russia's attack on Ukraine hits markets, Wedbush analysts said investors can bet on large-cap, oversold tech stocks and cybersecurity stocks.
• They shared 14 stocks to buy, including Apple, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and Salesforce.

Large-cap tech stocks and cybersecurity companies should reward investors as the Russia-Ukraine war throttles global markets, according to Wedbush analysts led by Dan Ives.

While popular tech stocks will see "significant pain" during the war-induced sell-off, Ives said this is an opportunity to buy oversold stocks.

"We view these geopolitical shock events as times not to panic (knee jerk reaction this morning is always very scary watching the red screens) but instead selectively focus on defensive tech stocks," wrote analysts in a Thursday research note.

As Russian forces invaded Ukraine early Thursday morning, global equities plunged, oil jumped above $100, and gold rallied as investors sought out traditional havens.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank into bear market territory early in the session, but later came sharply off its lows, even turning positive briefly. Cybersecurity stocks helped lead the rebound effort and were among the top gainers.

Ives noted that an increase in Russian cyberattacks could "catalyze an increase in spending" that could benefit cybersecurity stocks.

The names most likely to benefit from war in Ukraine include Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, Crowdstrike, Tenable, Varonis, Fortinet, Telos, Mandiant, and CyberArk.

Wedbush also shared other top tech names to own, including Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, Adobe, and Salesforce.

"While each geopolitical shock event is different and unique, our playbook since 2000 has been to use these periods of global chaos to buy the tech winners that we view as way oversold in a panic-like sell off," he said.