CrowdStrike's Strong Performance Signals Positive Outlook, Says HSBC

CrowdStrike's results prove the worst is behind it. It's time to buy the stock: HSBC

While CrowdStrike lowered its full-year guidance as a result of the guidance, its implied growth rate for the next two quarters is still 23% year-over-year, nearly twice that of other cybersecurity companies, HSBC analyst Stephen Bersey said. Bersey raised his rating on CrowdStrike to Buy from Hold and upped his price target to $339 from $302 following the results. CrowdStrike said it now sees full-year adjusted earnings between $3.61 and $3.65 per share, down from a prior outlook of $3.93 to $4.03 per share. "Working with customers to recover from the July 19th incident, we emerge as an even more resilient and even more customer-obsessed CrowdStrike, continuing to aggressively invest in innovation," George Kurtz, CrowdStrike's chief executive officer and co-founder said in a statement. Bersey added that despite the outage and related issues -- especially with Delta (DAL) -- CrowdStrike still has exposure to some of the fastest growing markets in cybersecurity and its native design, focused on artificial intelligence, gives it a "structural competitive advantage" over its peers.

CrowdStrike lifted to buy as bad news is 'largely behind us' - HSBC By Investing.com

HSBC upgraded CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) to Buy from Hold in a note Friday, citing that the worst of the company's challenges are now behind it. Analysts raised their target price for the stock to $339 from $302, highlighting the cybersecurity firm's strong performance in its second quarter of fiscal year 2025 (2QFY25) and its resilient long-term growth prospects. CrowdStrike reported a 32% year-over-year increase in revenue for 2QFY25, slightly ahead of market expectations. Despite an IT outage in July that delayed some deals, the company managed to beat consensus estimates for non-GAAP operating profit, with a 41% year-over-year jump in non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS). The company did lower its full-year guidance, acknowledging the ongoing impact of the July incident, but still expects robust revenue growth of 23% year-over-year in the second half of FY25. "The company's long-term growth prospects remain intact, in our view," said HSBC. "The company has exposure to some of the fastest-growing markets in the security industry." The firm's native AI design is seen as a structural advantage, setting it apart from competitors and positioning it well for AI-driven growth. Analysts also pointed out that, despite recent challenges, the company's net new annual recurring revenue (ARR) continues to grow, particularly in its hypergrowth business segments. HSBC's revised price target implies a 28.3% upside, reinforcing its confidence in CrowdStrike's ability to capitalize on future growth opportunities. "With the financial impact of the July incident now known, we think that the bad news is behind us," stated the bank.

Why CrowdStrike Stock Moved Higher Today | The Motley Fool

Is Wall Street warming back up to CrowdStrike after last month's computer systems meltdown? CrowdStrike (CRWD 2.06%) stock climbed again in Friday's trading. The cybersecurity company's share price closed out the daily session up 2.1%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. CrowdStrike published its second-quarter results after the market closed on Wednesday; it delivered better-than-expected performance in the period and guidance that wasn't as bad as some investors had feared. Following the report, CrowdStrike is seeing some bullish coverage from analysts today -- and its stock moved upward in response. In a note published this morning, HSBC upgraded its rating on CrowdStrike stock from hold to buy. The company also increased its one-year price target on the stock from $302 per share to $339 per share. The firm noted that there's still some uncertainty about what the fallout will be from the massive global computer system shutdown triggered by a software update rolled out on July 19, but its analysts think that CrowdStrike is now moving past the bad news. HSBC's analysts also said that the business is well positioned to capitalize on top cybersecurity trends and that the company's foundations using artificial intelligence give it competitive advantages. Bernstein also published a positive note on CrowdStrike today. The firm's lead analyst on the stock, Peter Weed, maintained an outperform rating on the stock and raised his one-year price target from $315 per share to $334 per share. The analyst thinks that CrowdStrike may have emerged from the worst of the headwinds it will face from the outages spurred by its July software update. Despite some uncertainty, Weed said he thinks that some contracts that were pushed further out are still on track to be won by the company.