What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed fears that artificial intelligence would cannibalize the enterprise software sector. 

High-growth names like Zscaler (ZS) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) saw significant rebounds as investors reassessed the "AI headwind" narrative that had previously weighed on valuations. Huang's comments acted as a powerful catalyst, signaling that the intersection of generative AI and established software platforms is a symbiotic relationship rather than a zero-sum game. During a CNBC appearance, Huang argued that the market "got it wrong," specifically defending the indispensable role of platforms like ServiceNow. He emphasized that these companies are uniquely positioned to deploy fine-tuned AI agents that utilize their existing specialized tools.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Vulnerability Management company Tenable (NASDAQ: TENB) jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Tenable? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Tax Software company Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) jumped 3%. Is now the time to buy Intuit? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Design Software company Unity (NYSE: U) jumped 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Unity? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Design Software company Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) jumped 3%. Is now the time to buy Autodesk? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Vulnerability Management company Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) jumped 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Qualys? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Tenable (TENB)

Tenable’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 12 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock gained 4.5% on the news that solid economic data, including a beat on consumer confidence boosted sentiment. 

The positive reports fueled a "Turnaround Tuesday" relief rally across the market, with the technology sector among the leaders. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 91.2 in February, indicating a more optimistic outlook from consumers about income and business conditions. Also, a recent announcement from Anthropic regarding new collaborative tools for its Claude AI agent software helped calm investor nerves. The company's move to expand its AI tools into sectors like human resources and investment banking signals a potential for partnership rather than replacement. This shift in sentiment was reflected in the market, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF surging 2.4% as investors bought back into beaten-down software stocks.

Tenable is down 14.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $19.47 per share, it is trading 49.5% below its 52-week high of $38.54 from March 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Tenable’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $475.80.

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