CrowdStrike's Outlook, Buyback Plan Impress, But Some Analysts Say Valuation Limits Upside

Shares of CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. CRWD were trading lower on Wednesday after the company reported disappointing quarterly results on Tuesday.

The announcement came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

BofA Securities On CrowdStrike

Analyst Tal Liani downgraded the rating from Buy to Neutral, while raising the price target from $420 to $470.

CrowdStrike's underlying trends remained healthy in the fiscal first quarter, Liani said in the downgrade note. ARR (annual recurring revenue) grew 22%, beating Street expectations by 100 basis points (bps), he added.

Next-Gen SIEM ARR tripled on a year-on-year basis, Cloud Security growth accelerated and Falcon Flex adoption grew by 31% sequentially, the analyst stated. "We favor CrowdStrike’s fundamentals and growth prospects, but believe the valuation leaves only limited upside from the current level," he further wrote.

Canaccord Genuity On CrowdStrike

Analyst Kingsley Crane downgraded the rating from Buy to Hold, while raising the price target from $420 to $475.

CrowdStrike reported solid quarterly results, with ARR growing to $4.44 billion and net-new ARR coming in at $194 million, Crane said in his downgrade note. Management reaffirmed their full-year revenue guidance of $4.74 billion-$4.81 billion, he added.

The company also announced a new share buyback program worth $1 billion, "underscoring confidence in long-term growth and cash generation," the analyst wrote. Although CrowdStrike’s business operations since the July 19, 2024 incident is "nothing short of remarkable," the current stock valuation represents a balanced risk/reward, he further stated.

RBC Capital Markets On CrowdStrike

Analyst Matthew Hedberg maintained an Outperform rating, while lifting the price target from $500 to $510.

Although CrowdStrike's fiscal first-quarter results were "slightly noisy," they represented a strong start to the year, Hedberg said in a note. NNARR (net new annual recurring revenue) stood at $193.8 million, representing a year-on-year decline of 8.5% but topping consensus of $176.7 million and coming in line with the four-year average, he added.

Management guided to sequential growth in NNARR doubling in the second quarter, which suggests a figure of $204.6 million, higher than the current consensus of $192.6 million, the analyst stated. "Profitability going higher and a new $1B share repurchase plan were positives while there was no update regarding the U.S. Fed investigation," he further wrote.

Truist Securities On CrowdStrike

Analyst Joel Fishbein reiterated a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $450 to $500.

CrowdStrike reported strong quarterly results, with its better-than-expected NNARR driven by "large deal activity, Falcon Flex, the MSSPs and platform adoption," Fishbein said.

The analyst added, however, that revenue of $1.1 billion came in line with the midpoint of guidance, "as the CCP program and a related partner program that were ended last quarter created an ~$11M headwind to subscription revenue." Non-GAAP operating margin of 18.2% significantly surpassed the high end of guidance, driven by platform efficiency, he further stated.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Needham On CrowdStrike

Analyst Mike Cikos reaffirmed a Buy rating, while lifting the price target from $420 to $530.

CrowdStrike's NNARR declined by 14% sequentially, much better than the guidance of a 21%-23% decline, Cikos said. Management expects NNARR growth to “at least double” in the second quarter from the growth posted a year ago, which implies "baseline growth of 5.6%," he added.

They also expressed increased confidence in NNARR growth reaccelerating in the back half of fiscal 2026, the analyst stated. This confidence is "buoyed by traction with Flex, evidence of use outpacing contracted spend via re Flex customers, and Next-Gen SIEM maintaining triple-digit yr-yr growth," he further wrote.

Rosenblatt Securities On CrowdStrike

Analyst Catharine Trebnick maintained a Buy rating and price target of $515.

CrowdStrike's stock fell sharply after the company reported its latest revenue figure below the Street estimates, Trebnick said. She added, however, that Falcon Flex's adoption rate was "impressive," taking the total account value to more than $3.2 billion.

Management reiterated their initial revenue growth guidance of 21% for fiscal 2026, while expressing confidence in a re-acceleration in the second half of the year, the analyst stated. "We continue to believe in CrowdStrike’s capacity to execute its strategic growth initiatives, enhance profitability, and leverage the growing cybersecurity market," she further wrote.

JMP Securities On CrowdStrike

Analyst Trevor Walsh reiterated a Market Outperform rating and price target of $500.

CrowdStrike reported earnings of 73 cents per share, beating consensus of 67 cents per share, while revenues of $1.103.4 billion came in short of estimates of $1.105.3 billion, Walsh said. The company guided to non-GAAP earnings of 82-84 cents per share for the fiscal second quarter, higher than consensus of 81 cents per share, he added.

The full-year revenues and non-GAAP earnings guidance came in at $4.743-$4.805 billion and $3.44-$3.56 per share, respectively, the analyst stated.

CRWD Price Action: Shares of CrowdStrike Holdings had declined by 4% to $469.01 at the time of publication on Wednesday.

Read More:

•  CrowdStrike Stock Slips: Analyst Downgrades Before Earnings

Photo: Michael Vi / Shutterstock