CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Overweight” Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $510.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $487.00.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on CrowdStrike from $575.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of CrowdStrike from $600.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of CrowdStrike from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Berenberg Bank set a $600.00 target price on shares of CrowdStrike and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of CrowdStrike from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.19.

CrowdStrike Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ CRWD opened at $436.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $110.00 billion, a PE ratio of -589.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 1.06. CrowdStrike has a one year low of $298.00 and a one year high of $566.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $429.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $469.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. CrowdStrike had a negative return on equity of 0.14% and a negative net margin of 3.81%.The business’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CrowdStrike will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other CrowdStrike news, President Michael Sentonas sold 11,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.78, for a total transaction of $5,498,758.58. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 342,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,399,015.90. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Kurtz sold 28,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $413.01, for a total transaction of $11,916,577.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,054,902 shares in the company, valued at $848,695,075.02. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,068 shares of company stock worth $40,447,425. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CrowdStrike

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CrowdStrike by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,351,748,000 after purchasing an additional 340,047 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of CrowdStrike by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,161,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,232,167,000 after purchasing an additional 239,428 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CrowdStrike by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,947,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,777,227,000 after purchasing an additional 137,224 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CrowdStrike by 54,635.9% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,293,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,186,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285,640 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in CrowdStrike by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,271,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,002,398,000 after purchasing an additional 53,813 shares during the last quarter. 71.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting CrowdStrike

Here are the key news stories impacting CrowdStrike this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat and durable growth — Q4 results beat estimates (EPS $1.12 vs. $1.10; revenue $1.31B), ARR grew ~24% to $5.25B, operating income and cash flow expanded, supporting the view that subscription momentum is accelerating. CrowdStrike Delivered a Blowout Quarter—and the Stock Yawned
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade fuels demand — Morgan Stanley bumped CRWD to Overweight with a $510 target, a move that helped spark recent rallies and signals growing conviction that CrowdStrike will capture AI-related security spending. CrowdStrike (CRWD) Stock Jumps 17% Following Morgan Stanley’s Top Pick Designation
• Positive Sentiment: AI tailwind recognized by Wall Street — Multiple pieces note that AI expansion should raise demand for advanced endpoint and identity protection, reinforcing CrowdStrike’s addressable market thesis. Why CrowdStrike’s stock just won another fan on Wall Street
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed price-target moves — Some shops trimmed targets (Daiwa to $500; Citi trimmed its target from $610 to $525 but kept Buy), reflecting differing views on how much premium the market should pay for growth. These conflicting PTs can moderate near-term upside. Daiwa lowers price target on CrowdStrike
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns — Despite strong results, CRWD still trades at a premium (forward multiples well above the market). Analysts warn that sustained high growth will be needed to justify current valuations, which could cap gains if growth decelerates. Down 22%, Is It Time to Buy CrowdStrike Stock on the Dip?
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/competitive risk — CrowdStrike filed a trademark suit against rival AiStrike; litigation or intensified competition could create expenses or distractions. CrowdStrike sues rival AiStrike for trademark infringement

CrowdStrike Company Profile

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The firm was co-founded by George Kurtz and Dmitri Alperovitch and became a publicly traded company following its initial public offering in 2019. CrowdStrike positions itself as a provider of cloud-native security solutions designed to protect endpoints, cloud workloads, identities and data against sophisticated cyber threats.

The company’s core offering is the CrowdStrike Falcon platform, a modular, cloud-delivered security architecture that combines endpoint protection (EPP), endpoint detection and response (EDR), threat intelligence, and device control through lightweight agents and centralized telemetry.