Is Obama's New Executive Order Affecting Cybersecurity Stocks?

Cybersecurity stocks largely fell Wednesday amid news that President Barack Obama had signed an executive order that places sanctions on hackers.

The order authorizes the Treasury Department "to impose sanctions on individuals or entities that engage in malicious cyber-enabled activities that create a significant threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States," according to Obama.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the order allows the department "to expose and financially isolate those who hide in the shadows of the Internet."

Shares of FireEye Inc (NASDAQ: FEYE) were down 3.9 percent to $37.72 Wednesday afternoon, while Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE: PANW) fell 4.1 percent to $140.07.

Varonis Systems Inc (NASDAQ: VRNS) also declined and recently traded at $24.47, down 4.6 percent

Shares of Imperva Inc (NYSE: IMPV) fell to $41.02, down 3.9 percent and Cyberark Software Ltd (NASDAQ: CYBR) recently traded at $55.15, down 0.76 percent.

Qualys Inc (NASDAQ: QLYS) showed some strength and traded higher at $47.00, up 1.1 percent.