CrowdStrike surges as analysts praise Q4 execution, 'quick recovery'
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CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) shares rose nearly 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday as the cybersecurity company reported strong fourth-quarter results and guidance, resulting in praise from many Wall Street analysts citing a "quick recovery" from last quarter's blip.
J.P. Morgan analyst Brian Essex, who has an overweight rating, said the results showed a "quick recovery" and better execution, citing the fact that annual recurring revenue, operating profitability and free cash flow margin all came in above consensus.
"We continue to view [CrowdStrike] as one of the best positioned within our coverage to consolidate share in its markets and are encouraged by the sequential improvement in a challenging macro environment," Essex wrote in an investor note. He raised his per-share price target to $155 from $137 following the results. 
That outlook came along with CrowdStrike (CRWD) earned an adjusted 47 cents per share on revenue of $637.4M during the fourth-quarter. CrowdStrike (CRWD) added 1,873 net new subscription customers to give it 23,019 subscription customers.
Wall Street analysts had forecast CrowdStrike (CRWD) to earn 43 cents a share, on $626.8M.
Looking ahead, CrowdStrike (CRWD) forecast first-quarter earnings between 50 and 51 cents per share with sales between $674.9M and $678.2M.
Wedbush Securities analyst Taz Koujalgi called the quarterly results "good" in the face of "modest expectations" coming on back of the most recent quarter, even though the company is still dealing with macro challenges. 
"We calculate that the [annual recurring revenue] guide appears conservative, and if macro conditions do not deteriorate, net new [annual recurring revenue] growth if high single digits are doable," Koujalgi explained. He raised his per-share price target to $145 from $135 after the results.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachmann said it's unlikely that one quarter would stave off competition and pricing concerns, but the results are a positive, especially in light of the stock's "attractive" valuation.
"We believe that CRWD can mitigate endpoint competition, and investor concerns, by continuing to diversify its portfolio and revenue streams, and we think the company is on this path with solutions such as Identity, Logscale and External Attack Surface Management, though endpoint still dominates results," Bachmann wrote.
Last month, Goldman Sachs listed CrowdStrike (CRWD) among its favorite stocks for clients to own.