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On Wednesday, Evercore ISI, a prominent research firm, raised its price target for CrowdStrike Holdings stock (NASDAQ:CRWD) to $450 from the previous $400, while retaining an Outperform rating. Currently trading at $390.16 with a market capitalization of $96.1 billion, CrowdStrike has demonstrated remarkable momentum with a 52% price return over the past six months. The adjustment followed CrowdStrike’s fourth-quarter results, which surpassed expectations and showcased strong performance despite the challenges faced in the aftermath of a significant outage in a prior quarter. According to InvestingPro analysis, the stock is currently trading above its Fair Value, with analysts setting price targets ranging from $301 to $506.
According to Evercore ISI, the latest financial results from CrowdStrike indicate a shift towards a more optimistic outlook, moving away from the ultra-conservative projections previously set. The firm’s management has demonstrated increased certainty and visibility in their business model, suggesting potential reacceleration in the second half of the year and continued upward momentum into fiscal year 2027. InvestingPro data reveals the company maintains a strong financial health score of 2.8 (GOOD), with liquid assets exceeding short-term obligations and a comfortable debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.
The positive sentiment is further bolstered by the disproval of concerns regarding a significant uptick in customer churn, with the quarter’s performance reinforcing the expectation of a 2H reacceleration. CrowdStrike’s management has reaffirmed their forecast for growth in the latter half of the year, driven by customer renewals and upsells following the conclusion of the Customer Credit Program (CCP), as well as a faster-than-expected drawdown of flexible usage pools by customers and growing adoption of new products.
Evercore ISI also noted the guidance for operating margins, which anticipates initial investments in areas like internal AI efficiencies and marketing but expects an acceleration in the second half of the year. Management’s forecast for operating margin is 20% for fiscal year 2026, with an anticipated increase to 23% in fiscal year 2027. Free cash flow (FCF) margin is also projected to improve, exiting the fourth quarter at around 27% and returning to over 30% annually in fiscal year 2027.
The firm highlighted several key data points that support their positive stance on CrowdStrike, including a 40% year-over-year increase in total contract value (TCV) for fiscal year 2025, reaching $6 billion. This aligns with the company’s impressive 31.35% revenue growth over the last twelve months and robust gross profit margin of 75.24%. Module adoption rates have risen sequentially, the module renewal rate has remained steady at 95%, and gross retention has been consistent quarter over quarter at 97%. For deeper insights into CrowdStrike’s financial metrics and growth potential, investors can access the comprehensive Pro Research Report, available exclusively on InvestingPro, which covers over 1,400 US stocks with detailed analysis and actionable intelligence. Additionally, extended contract durations have contributed to a 27.6% year-over-year increase in remaining performance obligations (RPO) bookings. Evercore ISI also pointed out that a change in the effective tax rate would impact fiscal year 2026 earnings per share (EPS) by $0.98.
In other recent news, CrowdStrike Holdings reported strong fourth-quarter 2025 earnings, surpassing analysts’ expectations. The company achieved an earnings per share of $1.03, exceeding the forecast of $0.86, and revenue of $1.06 billion, which was higher than the anticipated $1.03 billion. Despite this positive performance, CrowdStrike’s stock experienced a decline in after-hours trading. The company also highlighted significant growth in its total contract value, which increased by 40% year-over-year to $6 billion. Looking ahead, CrowdStrike projects fiscal year 2026 revenue growth between 20% and 22%.
Additionally, KeyBanc Capital Markets adjusted its financial outlook for CrowdStrike, reducing the price target from $480 to $450 while maintaining an Overweight rating. This adjustment followed the company’s fourth fiscal quarter earnings, which outperformed expectations. Despite the positive earnings, CrowdStrike’s fiscal year 2026 guidance presented mixed projections, with revenue projections exceeding expectations but margin forecasts falling short. KeyBanc increased its annual recurring revenue and revenue estimates for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, reflecting ongoing confidence in CrowdStrike’s market position.
CrowdStrike’s management announced the discontinuation of customer concession programs, introduced after an outage in July, as the incident is now considered resolved. The company aims to accelerate net new annual recurring revenue in the second half of fiscal year 2026, with further acceleration anticipated in fiscal year 2027. These developments underscore the company’s strategic focus on platform resiliency and market expansion.
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