Anthropic AI tool buzz: Are cybersecurity stocks next after IT rout? Analysts’ views amid global cues

Fears of artificial intelligence (AI) are not limited to large IT services only as the fears have taken dented cybersecurity counters as well. Tuesday's session turned into a rough day for the Indian cybersecurity stocks, which tanked as much as 15 per cent during the day, thanks to Anthropic's new AI tool Claude Code Security.

It is believed that the AI-based new tool is likely to replace these platforms as investors worry about AI replacing parts of traditional workflows. However, experts brush aside such fears. On the other hand, Claude reads and reasons about code like a human researcher without human interventions.

Anthropic recently unveiled Claude Code Security, a new AI capability designed to help teams find and fix software vulnerabilities faster. It can trace data flow, understand component interactions, and detect subtle, context-dependent vulnerabilities that standard scanners often miss.

Amid these fears, Indian cybersecurity players tumbled. Vijay Kedia-backed Tac Infosec turned out to be the biggest loser. The SME-listed counter settled at Rs 443.35, down 15 per cent for the day. The stock has lost more than half of its value from its 52-week high at Rs 899.65 hit on November 4, 2025.

Among other players, L&T Technology Services Ltd (LTTS) cracked more than 8.4 per cent to Rs 3,148.10 on Tuesday, while Affle 3I was down more than 7.3 per cent to Rs 1,398.35 for the day. Cigniti Technologies Ltd and Digitide Solutions lost nearly 6 per cent each to Rs 1,202.75 and Rs 97.70 as of close, respectively.

Indian cybersecurity stocks saw limited direct impact from Anthropic's Claude Code Security announcement, unlike the sharp 6-11% drops in US peers such as CrowdStrike, Cloudflare, Okta, Zscaler, and SailPoint, said Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart. India's pure-play cybersecurity sector is small, he said.

Other companies including the likes Quick Heal Technologies Ltd, Inventurus Knowledge Solutions Ltd, eMudhra, Expleo Solutions, Sasken Technologies Ltd, Dev Information Technology, Sattrix Information Security, Vakrangee were down 4-5 per cent each as of their close on Tuesday.

On the listed space, India has limited pure-play exposure but select names stand out. Quick Heal Technologies remains one of the few product-led cybersecurity companies on the mainboard, while SME-listed TAC InfoSec has positioned itself as a niche specialist, said Harshal Dasani, Business Head at INVasset PMS.

"eMudhra operates in digital trust and identity infrastructure — a foundational cybersecurity layer. Valuations reflect growth expectations, with security verticals growing meaningfully faster than traditional IT services. The structural opportunity is intact, but disciplined stock selection and recurring revenue visibility remain critical," he added.

Adding to this, Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at Wealthmills Securities said that Indian players may have a limited exposure in the cybersecurity space, but these companies shall pivot their enterprise offering as the new demand will require products in the space, once the AI-buzz settles down. However, the time taken for this is not easy to ascertain as of now, he said.