New York, February 26, 2026, 12:18 ET — Regular session
- CRWD bounced roughly 4% by midday, clawing back some ground after cybersecurity names took a beating earlier this week.
- CrowdStrike pointed to recently announced AI-centric partnerships and introduced FalconID, its latest multi-factor authentication tool.
- Investors are eyeing the March 3 earnings report, looking for any signals on demand and forward guidance.
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD.O) climbed 3.9% to $377.38 by midday Thursday, after shares bounced between $364.66 and $385.09 during the session. 1
After a steep drop in software and cybersecurity stocks this week, buyers stepped back in. Investors had been rattled by renewed concerns over how fast AI tools might erode sections of the security stack. 2
This is coming to a head with CrowdStrike scheduled to report earnings on March 3—a date investors are watching closely after the stock’s sharp drop. 3
Late Wednesday, CrowdStrike unveiled a new strategic partnership with VAST Data aimed at protecting what both companies are calling the “AI lifecycle.” The deal integrates VAST’s AI Operating System directly with the Falcon platform, enabling telemetry sharing across both environments. “AI is becoming the operating system of the modern enterprise,” said CEO George Kurtz. 4
The company also announced it’s rolling out FalconID for general use, bringing “zero-friction” multi-factor authentication (MFA) to the Falcon platform. That’s the extra verification step after a password—think a code or a biometric scan. “Traditional MFA is architecturally broken,” CTO Elia Zaitsev said in the statement. 5
CrowdStrike rolled out its 2026 Global Threat Report this week, highlighting a drop in average “eCrime breakout time” to just 29 minutes for 2025. That’s the window between an intruder getting in and starting to move through a target’s systems; the fastest case logged was only 27 seconds. “This is an AI arms race,” said Adam Meyers, who leads counter adversary operations at CrowdStrike. 6
CrowdStrike on Thursday spotlighted its Fal.Con Gov 2026 event, scheduled for March 18 in Washington, pushing its public-sector narrative as AI-driven threats take center stage. 7
Targets keep dropping as analysts adjust to the stock’s slide. DA Davidson trimmed its price target down to $425 from $580 but stuck with a buy call, arguing the Anthropic-driven selloff felt excessive, though valuation is still high. 8
The stock finished Wednesday at $363.31, up 3.73% and ending a three-session slide. Still, shares remain far off their peak from November. 9
Peer stocks tracked each other closely. Earlier this week, shares of CrowdStrike, Zscaler, and Palo Alto Networks slipped after AI startup Anthropic launched its Claude Code Security tool, igniting chatter about possible disruption in the cybersecurity space. 10
Investors shifted gears within the tech sector on Thursday, piling into software even as chip stocks took another hit. 11
The risk is still in play. Should CrowdStrike report on March 3 that deal flow has lost steam, guidance softens, or clients start shifting budgets toward lower-cost AI-native offerings, that rally in the stock could unravel in a hurry.
CrowdStrike reports earnings March 3 after the bell, with a conference call slated for 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Investors are set to focus on any updates around AI-fueled demand and competitive landscape. 12
