CrowdStrike (CRWD) Gains as 5 Research Firms Raise PTs Ahead of Earnings
Shares of CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) are up about 2% today after at least 5 research firms raised their price targets on the stock ahead of tomorrow's earnings report.
Barclays, RBC, Needham, Jefferies, and BofA all pushed their price targets above the $300 handle on expectations CRWD will deliver better-than-expected results.
Needham analyst Alex Henderson raised the price target to $335.00 per share from $277.00 as he expects the company to deliver a strong report despite high expectations.
The analyst has also reiterated CRWD's Buy rating, SBI Status, and its place on Needham's Conviction list.
“Calling CRWD's move post print is challenging. The setup looks strong as Crowd should handily beat and raise. The out period forecasts call for much faster deceleration than we think is likely, leaving room for estimates to go up. Demand is strong, expectations are high, and many high valuation/high growth stocks have corrected despite Beat/Raise prints. We think CRWD should be able to Beat/Raise sufficiently to satisfy the high expectations and the shares should either rally on the print or soon after. Further, we think Crowd's strong execution, aggressive growth management style, broadening platform, superb architecture, and opportunities in Kubernetes set up a long-term story that make CRWD a Core Holding,” Henderson said in a client note.
Fundamentals, as well as a robust environment, should drive both prints, says Jefferies analyst Brent Thill in a client note. He also expects CRWD to top analyst estimates.
“CRWD should exceed F2Q cons ARR growth of 65% (Jeff 67%), & we believe 70% is the true bogey. We estimate 7%+ of sub rev upside vs FY22 cons. & potentially meaningful FY22 margin expansion. Should exceed cons in its 1st Q as a pub company & potentially re-accelerate ARR growth above cons. 114% yoy. While both warrant premium valuation, we view CRWD as more attractive given it’s 41% discount to S,” Thill wrote.
Needham and Jefferies both have a $335.00 per share price target on CRWD, which are Street-high PTs.
CrowdStrike is due to report Tuesday, August 31st at 4:00 PM EDT.