CrowdStrike Stock Is Climbing Higher Today: What's Going On?

Shares of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc CRWD are up Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected results and issued guidance well above analyst estimates. Several analysts are out with positive coverage on the stock following the print.

• Q4 Revenue: $637.4 million beat estimates of $624.92 million
• Q4 EPS: 47 cents beat estimates of 43 cents

Both quarterly and annual recurring revenue increased 48% on a year-over-year basis. Subscription gross margins came in at 75% and free cash flow jumped to $209.5 million, up from $127.3 million year-over-year.

"CrowdStrike delivered a record fourth quarter that exceeded our expectations across the board. Highlights of the quarter included record net new ARR of $222 million, record net new subscription customers of 1,873, record operating and free cash flow and a rule of 81 on a free cash flow basis," said George Kurtz, co-founder, president and CEO of CrowdStrike.

Outlook: CrowdStrike expects first-quarter revenue to be between $674.9 million and $678.2 million versus estimates of $664.69 million. The company sees first-quarter adjusted earnings between 50 cents and 51 cents per share versus estimates of 43 cents per share.

CrowdStrike expects full-year 2023 revenue to be between $2.955 billion and $3.015 billion versus estimates of $2.23 billion. The company sees full-year adjusted earnings in a range of $2.21 to $2.39 per share versus estimates of $1.50 per share. 

Analyst Assessment:

• BMO Capital maintained CrowdStrike with an Outperform and raised the price target from $120 to $152.
• Citigroup maintained CrowdStrike with a Buy and raised the price target from $145 to $155.
• Barclays maintained CrowdStrike with an Overweight and raised the price target from $155 to $165.
• Evercore ISI Group maintained CrowdStrike with an Outperform and lowered the price target from $200 to $190.
• JMP Securities reiterated CrowdStrike with a Market Outperform and maintained a $235 price target.
• Stifel maintained CrowdStrike with a Hold and raised the price target from $110 to $125.

Related Link: These Analysts Revise Price Targets On CrowdStrike Following Strong Q4 Results

CRWD Price Action: CrowdStrike shares are up 4.79% at $130.92 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of CrowdStrike.