New York, Feb 26, 2026, 19:10 EST — After-hours
- CRWD ended higher as the company rolled out a new identity product and pushed fresh AI-security partnerships.
- Analysts cut price targets but argued the recent AI-driven selloff in security software looked excessive.
- Focus now shifts to March 3 results and subscription growth signals.
CrowdStrike Holdings’ shares closed up 4.9% at $381.09 on Thursday, snapping back after a bruising stretch for high-priced cybersecurity names. 1
The bounce matters because investors are trying to decide whether new AI coding tools are a real threat to the big security platforms, or just another headline that forces a valuation reset. The next test is close: CrowdStrike reports results next week.
JPMorgan’s Brian Essex cut his price target to $472 from $582 while keeping an Overweight rating, saying Friday’s security-software selloff after Anthropic’s Claude Code Security announcement “appears overdone” for platform vendors like CrowdStrike. He expects a “healthy” quarter, pointing to pipeline and Falcon Flex traction. 2
CrowdStrike added fuel on Thursday with a new product: FalconID, a multi-factor authentication tool, or MFA, which adds a second step to logins to make stolen passwords less useful. Chief technology officer Elia Zaitsev called traditional MFA “architecturally broken,” saying it is too disconnected from real-time risk signals. 3
A day earlier, the company announced a partnership with VAST Data to secure what it calls the AI lifecycle, linking telemetry from VAST’s AI operating system with CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform. VAST founder and CEO Renen Hallak said VAST was built to be the “operating system for AI,” and the tie-up extends continuous threat detection into AI workflows. 4
CrowdStrike also landed adjacent product news through partners. Commvault said an expanded integration with CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM — software that pulls in and analyzes security event logs — adds bi-directional visibility to help teams verify backup integrity before recovery decisions. Commvault said the integration is available through the CrowdStrike Marketplace at no additional charge. 5
On the public-sector front, CrowdStrike said its Fal.Con Gov 2026 event will be held March 18 in Washington, with speakers including White House National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross and senior officials from CISA and the Defense Department. “Defending the nation requires real-time intelligence,” CrowdStrike President Michael Sentonas said in the announcement. 6
Analysts are still pulling numbers down. DA Davidson analyst Rudy Kessinger lowered his price target to $425 from $580 while maintaining a Buy rating. DA Davidson expects net new ARR — annual recurring revenue, a key subscription gauge — of about $315 million to $320 million for the quarter, above consensus around $301 million, but said valuation remains expensive. 7
But the risk case is still sitting right on top of the stock: investors have been punishing software names when the multiple looks stretched, and any stumble on guidance could reopen the debate about whether AI-native security features chip away at pricing power. CrowdStrike shares are down about 22.5% year-to-date, Investing.com reported. 8
What traders will watch in the earnings report is straightforward: ARR growth, net new ARR, and whether management keeps pushing margin expansion while defending its platform story. Commentary around Falcon Flex, identity security demand and the real impact — if any — from AI coding security tools will likely move the stock.
CrowdStrike is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and full-year results after the U.S. market close on Tuesday, March 3, and will host a conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. 9
