Jefferies reaffirmed its Buy rating on CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) on Thursday, citing accelerating artificial intelligence revenue and upwardly revised annual recurring revenue guidance for fiscal 2028.
The brokerage maintained a $240 price target on the cybersecurity provider, which closed at $203.42 on Wednesday. The target remains below several peers, including Argus Research’s $425 and Truist Securities’ $300, though it aligns with DA Davidson’s $245 and TD Cowen’s $250.
CrowdStrike’s AI-driven detection and response annual recurring revenue grew more than 79-fold within three quarters of launch, compared with over 10-fold growth for its endpoint detection and response segment over the same period. The company projects fiscal 2028 ARR to expand by more than 20% year-over-year, excluding cancellations, exceeding the consensus estimate of 11% and implying a 24.6% total ARR increase for the fiscal year.
Fiscal second-quarter 2027 results showed non-GAAP earnings per share rising 33.5% to $0.68, while revenue increased 26% to $874.1 million. Over the trailing 12 months, total revenue grew 24.3%.
The outlook was discussed during CrowdStrike’s Fal.Con conference, which drew over 10,000 attendees, up from 8,000 the prior year. The event highlighted AI integration across the company’s portfolio, including the public release of Falcon Guardian and the introduction of SafeMind. Additionally, CrowdStrike expanded its Falcon security tools within Google Cloud’s enterprise AI ecosystem to enhance runtime protection and application visibility.
Jefferies analyst Joseph Gallo noted that the updated guidance increases the likelihood of accelerated ARR growth in fiscal 2028, driven by recent and upcoming AI-focused product launches. InvestingPro data shows 15 analysts have revised earnings estimates upward for the coming period.
CrowdStrike’s shares have declined nearly 11% over the past week but remain up 97% year-over-year.
