CrowdStrike is a buy, just not yet. Here's why

Breaking news from the markets: CrowdStrike on Wednesday evening reported better-than-expected quarterly results and better-than-expected forward guidance, only to see its near-record-high stock sell off. The hot money that got in, looking for a Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Dell type post-earnings surge , no doubt booked profits, sending shares down more than 11% to around $664 each. We're not short-term thinkers.

Revenue in CrowdStrike's fiscal 2027 first quarter increased 26% year over year to $1. 39 billion, exceeding the 1. 36 billion consensus estimate, according to LSEG.

Economic Details

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) surged 51% to $1. 10 in the quarter ended April 30, ahead of the $1. 07 estimate, LSEG data showed.

CRWD YTD mountain CrowdStrike YTD On top of the beat-and-raise, CrowdStrike announced a 4-for-1 stock split, with trading on a split-adjusted basis expected to begin on July 2. We're increasing our price target to $750 per share from $650, while maintaining our hold-equivalent 2 rating to give the stock time to settle before we consider calling it a buy. CrowdStrike shares closed at a record high of $782 on Monday.

Bottom line Putting the shortsighted stock reaction aside, which we also saw after Tuesday evening's Palo Alto Networks earnings, CrowdStrike's strong report added to the body of evidence that artificial intelligence adoption is not a threat to the cybersecurity business, but rather a boon. The idea that enterprise companies across the globe would risk their data by attempting to stand up their own cybersecurity solutions by leveraging an AI model is, indeed, proving fanciful. Those concerns that chopped 30% off cyber stocks earlier this year could not have been more wrong, as Jim Cramer had said all along.

Analyst Views

CEO George Kurtz called Mythos an "inflection moment," saying on the post-earnings call that the powerful, yet-to-be-released Anthropic model highlighted the "relevance for defenders in identifying vulnerabilities much faster than before, including the chaining of multiple vulnerabilities to create lethal cyberattacks. " Instead of just releasing Mythos, which proved in testing to be adept at spotting security holes, Anthropic initially made the model available to 11 organizations, including Club names CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks . Called Project Glasswing, the initiative is enlisting help to secure Mythos.

On Tuesday, Anthropic expanded the effort to include 150 organizations in more than 15 countries. Kurtz said AI is driving demand for security solutions in two ways. First, and the most obvious, is that clients need to secure the AI before they can even deploy it.

Companies can't hand over important access codes to unsecured AI agents, making cyber a key component of AI infrastructure. Second, AI has led to "an explosion in greenfield attack surfaces, each of which needs cybersecurity," the CEO said. In cyberspeak, greenfield attack surfaces are potential vulnerabilities that arise from deploying brand-new technology.

Financial markets are tracking the development closely as investors assess the likely impact.