CrowdStrike reported record-smashing financial results on Wednesday, giving investors plenty of reasons to believe that its shares will continue to rally, according to Citi. The investment bank has a buy on the cybersecurity name. It raised its price target on shares to $260 from $250, suggesting 37% upside from Wednesday’s close. “Against intensifying regulatory pressures, CRWD’s multi-[stock keeping unit] excellence/efficacy and lucrative product-attaching services franchise, atop one of the most diverse, comprehensive [go-to-market] strategies in enterprise software…means multiple shots-on-goal to “secure AI”, giving us confidence in durable high-20s [annual recurring revenue] Price Performance growth, as CRWD’s ‘cyber-[original equipment manufacturer]’d’ into novel AI architectures,” analyst Fatima Boolani said in a note. Shares of CrowdStrike were last up nearly 9% in premarket trading as investors digested its latest earnings. CRWD 5D mountain CRWD 5-day chart The company posted adjusted earnings of 31 cents per share for its fiscal second quarter versus the 29 cents expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Its revenue came in at a record-high $1.47 billion for the same period, or above the $1.44 billion consensus estimate on Wall Street. That figure increased 26% on a year-over-year basis. Boolani noted that CrowdStrike also demonstrated core endpoint acceleration that marked “a fairly impressive feat,” giving shares another reason to move higher. The analyst’s call falls in line with consensus on Wall Street. Of the 55 analysts covering CrowdStrike Holding, 45 have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock, LSEG data shows. Shares have popped 61% year to date.
