Snag This Cybersecurity Stock Before It’s Worth $100B, Says Analyst
Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD) is a cybersecurity solutions provider. It offers endpoint protection, incident response, ransomware solutions, next-gen antivirus, and endpoint detection and response. The company has clients in the finance, education, retail, insurance, manufacturing, and airline industries, and primarily markets subscriptions to its Falcon platform and cloud modules.
Incorporated in 2011, Crowdstrike is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a market cap of $75.86 billion.
CRWD stock is up 104% in the last 52 weeks, more than doubling in value to easily outperform the broader equities market. However, the stock has corrected more than 12% over the past five days.
CRWD Pulls Back Ahead of Earnings
The recent dip occurs as Crowdstrike prepares to announce its Q1 results after the market close today. Analysts expect strength in subscription growth to drive Q1 results, with more employees accessing networks remotely – leading to an increased demand for robust cybersecurity systems.
CEO George Kurtz is certainly bullish on demand for Crowdstrike’s signature cybersecurity platform, citing IDC data that shows “$6 of return for every dollar invested in the Falcon platform.” Kurtz also noted on last quarter’s conference call that the cybersecurity firm is in the “early innings” of monetizing its newly launched Charlotte AI.
For Q1, analysts are forecasting Crowdstrike’s revenue at $904.8 million, up 30.6% YoY, with adjusted earnings at $0.89 per share.
Previously, management has guided for Q1 EPS of $0.89-$0.90, with revenue between $902.2 million and $905.8 million. Crowdstrike also said at the time that it expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.77 to $3.97 per share, with revenue between $3.92 billion and $3.99 billion.
What Do Analysts Think Of CRWD?
Analysts have a consensus “Strong Buy” rating on CRWD stock, with a mean price target of $396.45. That implies expected upside potential of 28.4% from current levels.
Currently, 40 analysts are tracking CRWD, and 35 have a “Strong Buy” rating, 3 have a “Moderate Buy” rating, and 2 have a ”Hold” rating.
Morgan Stanley (MS) weighed in bullishly on CRWD ahead of earnings, with analyst Hamza Fodderwala raising the stock’s price target to $422 from $372, and backing an “Overweight” rating. That suggests upside potential of more than 36% for CRWD stock, and it’s not the only big number the analyst is eyeing.
“Crowdstrike is in a strong position given its leadership in securing endpoints, which remains the largest attack vector and accounts for nearly half of threat data for an enterprise. Our checks point to solid early interest in Charlotte AI, which we estimate adds $100MM+ in ARR in CY25 and ~$500MM by CY28,” wrote Fodderwala, who expects the company to generate over $10 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 2028.
Looking ahead, with catalysts like its potential S&P 500 Index ($SPX) inclusion also on the horizon, the Morgan Stanley analyst sees CRWD’s market cap topping $100 billion within 12 months, and “nearly doubling” by the end of the decade.
On the date of publication, Ruchi Gupta did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
