HSBC: Worst is over, upgrades CrowdStrike (CRWD.US) to "buy"

HSBC said CrowdStrike's (CRWD.US) latest quarter and guidance showed the cybersecurity giant was largely unscathed by the global outage last month, indicating it has weathered the worst of the storm. Analyst Stephen Bersey of HSBC said despite CrowdStrike's full-year guidance cut, its implied year-over-year growth rates for the next two quarters still stand at 23%, nearly double that of other cybersecurity companies. Bersey raised his rating on CrowdStrike from "hold" to "buy" and raised his price target to $339 from $302 after the earnings release. CrowdStrike said it now expects adjusted EPS for the full-year to be between $3.61 and $3.65, below its previous $3.93 to $4.03 estimate. Bersey added that despite the outage and related issues, especially with Delta Air Lines (DAL.US), CrowdStrike is still well-positioned in some of the fastest-growing cybersecurity markets, and its focus on artificial intelligence gives it a "structural competitive advantage" relative to its peers. Overall, Wall Street analysts are also generally bullish on CrowdStrike, with a consensus rating of "buy."