CrowdStrike remains cybersecurity’s gold standard after Q1 Beat, Wedbush says
CrowdStrike remains cybersecurity’s gold standard after Q1 Beat, Wedbush says
Publish Date: 2026-06-04 13:39:00
Source Domain: finance.yahoo.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) shares were down around 5.4% on Thursday despite the cybersecurity company posting first-quarter fiscal 2027 results that beat Wall Street estimates across the board and raised its full-year outlook. Wedbush maintained its outperform rating and raised its price target to $720 from $700, saying the company remains cybersecurity’s “golden child” and that investors should buy weakness in the stock. Total annual recurring revenue reached $5.51 billion in the quarter, up 24% year-over-year and slightly above analyst estimates of $5.50 billion, driven by net new ARR of $255.8 million, a 32% year-over-year increase. Revenue came in at $1.385 billion, topping the Street’s estimate of $1.360 billion, while non-GAAP operating margin of 23.5% also cleared consensus of 22.7%. Earnings per share of $1.10 beat the Street’s estimate of $1.07. Wedbush pointed to strong momentum in CrowdStrike’s AI-driven product suite, noting that its AIDR platform saw ending ARR grow more than 250% quarter-over-quarter, while Charlotte AI ARR accelerated sequentially. The company also posted record net new ARR from its Cloud, Next-Gen Identity, and Next-Gen SIEM offerings combined. Falcon Flex accounts surpassed 1,900 customers with over $1.9 billion in ARR, up 99% year-over-year, while more than half of customers now use six or more Falcon modules, pointing to strong platform stickiness. Wedbush noted that AI is driving structural demand for cybersecurity and called CrowdStrike’s expanding pipeline a significant bookings driver. The firm raised its price target to $720 from $700, citing the company’s platform momentum, and said it would be a buyer of weakness in the shares. “We continue to believe that CRWD’s position as the gold standard of cybersecurity remains firmly unchanged,” Wedbush wrote, adding that the Falcon platform is becoming increasingly critical in what it described as a modern AI threat landscape.
