TLDR
- CrowdStrike shares surged 4.4% to $429.64 Friday with trading volume 11% above average as HSBC upgraded the stock to Buy
- HSBC set a $446 price target, projecting 38.3% EPS growth through 2029 driven by AI-powered threat detection advantages
- NordVPN partnership expands CrowdStrike into consumer cybersecurity market, diversifying revenue beyond enterprise customers
- Wall Street consensus remains Moderate Buy with $552.17 average target, though Rosenblatt cut its forecast from $630 to $555
- Company earned Gartner Customers’ Choice award for user authentication, strengthening enterprise upsell potential
CrowdStrike shares jumped 4.4% to $429.64 Friday, hitting an intraday peak of $432.85. Trading volume reached 3.44 million shares, 11% higher than the daily average.
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., CRWD
The cybersecurity company received a boost from HSBC’s upgrade to Buy with a $446 price target. The investment bank cited CrowdStrike’s cloud-native platform and scale advantages in AI-driven threat detection.
HSBC forecasts non-GAAP EPS growth of 38.3% annually through fiscal 2029. The projection is based on expected revenue growth of 27.5% and operating margin expansion of 775 basis points.
The firm sees CrowdStrike’s 21.6% operating margin expanding toward the 40%+ levels of mature software companies. This potential justifies the premium 81.2x price-to-earnings ratio versus the sector median of 22.4x.
Expanding Beyond Enterprise
CrowdStrike is pushing into consumer cybersecurity through a partnership with NordVPN. The collaboration will power Threat Protection for millions of NordVPN users worldwide.
The company is also pursuing national cybersecurity contracts, broadening its addressable market. These moves create new recurring revenue streams outside traditional enterprise sales.
CrowdStrike received Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice recognition for user authentication. The award validates product quality and supports customer retention and expansion.
Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy rating on the stock with an average price target of $552.17. That implies roughly 29% upside from Friday’s closing price.
Susquehanna lifted its target from $530 to $600 following December earnings. Berenberg Bank and Citigroup also set targets at $600 and $610 respectively.
Analyst Views Mixed
Rosenblatt Securities trimmed its price target from $630 to $555 while keeping a Buy rating. The adjustment reflects more conservative near-term expectations despite positive long-term outlook.
Morgan Stanley raised its target from $515 to $537 with an Equal Weight rating. BNP Paribas Exane increased its forecast from $350 to $450 after the company’s earnings beat.
CrowdStrike reported third-quarter results in December, beating estimates with $0.96 adjusted EPS versus $0.94 expected. Revenue came in at $1.23 billion, topping the $1.22 billion forecast.
Revenue grew 21.8% year-over-year. The company posted negative net margin of 6.88% as it invests in expansion initiatives.
CEO George Kurtz sold 28,853 shares on February 4th at $413.01 each, totaling $11.9 million. The transaction reduced his stake by 1.38% to 2.05 million shares.
CFO Burt Podbere sold 10,516 shares in December at $483.33 per share for $5.08 million. He now holds 179,114 shares after the 5.55% position reduction.
Recent Trading Levels
The stock trades at a $108.31 billion market cap. Its 50-day moving average sits at $462.19, while the 200-day average is $473.57.
The company’s quick ratio stands at 1.81 with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Analysts expect $0.55 in EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional investors hold 71.16% of outstanding shares. Recent activity shows hedge funds increasing positions during the third quarter despite market volatility.
