Core Viewpoint - CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. has experienced a decline of 9.76% in the last 30 trading days, yet it remains one of the best-performing technology stocks in the S&P 500 with a 79% increase in 2025, following a year-long rally initiated by effective damage control after a software outage [1][2]. Financial Performance - The company reported $194 million in new net annual recurring revenue (ARR) for the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year, a critical metric for cybersecurity firms indicating year-over-year revenue retention [7]. - CrowdStrike achieved its first $1 billion in quarterly revenue recently, indicating a market share of under 5% in its core cybersecurity market, which is projected to be $103 billion [10][14]. - The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio stands at 771x, influenced by negative GAAP earnings of 44 cents in the last quarter due to high stock-based compensation [11][13]. Market Outlook - The total addressable market (TAM) for AI-native cybersecurity platforms is estimated at $116 billion for the current year, expected to grow to $250 billion by 2029 [9]. - CrowdStrike's guidance suggests a potential to generate over $1.3 billion in adjusted operating profit for FY2026, making its forward multiple appear reasonable on a non-GAAP basis [13]. Product Development - The company is expanding its AI-native Falcon platform, which is utilized by approximately 92% of Fortune 500 companies in various business areas [4]. - Recent launches include AI Systems Security Assessment and AI for SecOps Readiness, aimed at securing AI systems and integrating AI into security operations [6]. Stock Performance and Technical Analysis - CrowdStrike stock has lost bullish momentum, crossing below its 50-day simple moving average, with an RSI around 36 indicating potential for a trend reversal with strong earnings [15]. - Resistance is noted at $475, with support levels around $400 and a significant buying opportunity around $375 to $380 if the stock declines further [16].

Core Viewpoint - Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ:FTNT) experienced a significant decline of 25.9%, trading at $71.61, following a disappointing fiscal third-quarter outlook despite a second-quarter earnings win and matched revenue forecasts [1] Company Performance - Fortinet's second-quarter earnings were positive, but the negative guidance for the third quarter is impacting its stock performance [1] - Morgan Stanley downgraded Fortinet from "overweight" to "equal-weight" and reduced its price target from $110 to $78 [2] - If the current losses persist, Fortinet could face its worst one-day decline ever and may end up in negative territory for the year [2] Stock Trends - Fortinet shares are trading at their lowest in nearly 12 months and have fallen below a critical support level of $95 [2] - Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) is down 6.1% to $423.97, influenced by Alphabet's divestment of its stake in the company, although it still shows a 23.4% year-to-date gain [3] - SentinelOne Inc (NYSE:S) is down 5.2% to $16.42, with a 41.5% deficit over the past nine months, approaching its first close below $17 since April 22 [3] Options Activity - Fortinet is experiencing unusual options activity with 10 times the usual intraday average volume, particularly in the weekly 8/8 70-strike put [4] - Crowdstrike is also seeing increased options activity, with double the usual put volume, led by the September 420 put [4]

Core Viewpoint - CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. has experienced a significant decline in stock price, down over 14% in the last 30 days, despite a generally bullish earnings season for technology stocks [1] Company Performance - Despite the recent pullback, CRWD stock is still up 29.25% in 2025, over 99% in the last 12 months, and more than 285% in the last five years [2] - The company capitalized on a previous software update glitch to drive revenue growth by allowing customers to test its Falcon platform [3] - The latest quarter saw a 100% year-over-year gain in annual recurring revenue (ARR), although revenue expectations were missed [5] AI Integration - CrowdStrike's Falcon platform is cloud-native and AI-first, with the introduction of Charlotte AI to automate detection and response to emerging threats [4] Earnings Guidance - For the upcoming earnings report on August 27, CrowdStrike guided for revenue between $1.14 and $1.15 billion, indicating a 3% sequential improvement and an approximate 18% year-over-year increase [6] - Analysts forecast revenue at $1.15 billion, suggesting that even at the high end of guidance, CrowdStrike would only meet expectations [7] Market Sentiment - Analysts maintain a price target of $461.17 for CRWD stock, with a moderate buy rating based on 46 analyst ratings [10] - The stock has broken below its 100-day simple moving average, indicating potential resistance and increasing selling momentum [11] Options Market - The options chain for August 29 shows a bearish bias, with a 43% chance that the stock will close below $450 [14] Institutional Activity - Institutions may be preparing to buy CRWD stock at lower levels, potentially between $420 and $425, as they signal that the stock is currently expensive compared to its past and peers [16]

Key Takeaways One-Month Price Return Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research This underperformance raises the question: Should investors cut their losses and exit, or is it worth holding CRWD stock? CrowdStrike's Premium Valuation: A Key Concern CRWD's lofty valuation make it vulnerable to further correction. CrowdStrike is currently trading at a high price-to-sales (P/S) multiple, far above the Zacks Security industry. CrowdStrike's forward 12-month P/S ratio sits at 21.38X, significantly highe ...

Analyst's Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or a ...

Core Insights - CrowdStrike is projected to reach at least $10 billion in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) [1] Company Overview - The company is recognized for its growth-driven investment strategy, focusing on maximizing shareholder equity [1] - CrowdStrike operates in the cybersecurity sector, which is experiencing significant growth due to increasing demand for security solutions [1] Investment Strategy - The investment approach emphasizes sustainable growth and aims to capitalize on market opportunities within the cybersecurity industry [1] - The company has a beneficial long position in shares of CrowdStrike, indicating confidence in its future performance [2]

Company Performance - CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) closed at $454.57, reflecting a -1.85% change from the previous day's closing price, underperforming the S&P 500 which lost 0.37% [1] - Over the past month, CRWD shares declined by 6.64%, lagging behind the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4.58% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.68% [2] Earnings Forecast - The upcoming earnings disclosure is anticipated to show an EPS of $0.83, indicating a 20.19% decline year-over-year, while revenue is expected to reach $1.15 billion, marking a 19.22% increase compared to the same quarter last year [3] - For the annual period, Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $3.5 per share and revenue of $4.78 billion, reflecting shifts of -10.94% and +20.86% respectively from the previous year [4] Analyst Estimates and Stock Ratings - Recent adjustments to analyst estimates for CrowdStrike Holdings are crucial as they often indicate changing near-term business trends, with positive revisions seen as favorable for the business outlook [4] - The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), currently rates CrowdStrike Holdings as 3 (Hold), with the EPS estimate remaining stagnant over the past month [6] Valuation Metrics - CrowdStrike Holdings has a Forward P/E ratio of 132.2, which is a premium compared to the industry average Forward P/E of 73.13 [7] - The company also has a PEG ratio of 5.83, significantly higher than the Security industry's average PEG ratio of 3.06 [7] Industry Context - The Security industry, part of the Computer and Technology sector, holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 42, placing it in the top 18% of over 250 industries [8] - Research indicates that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [8]

Core Viewpoint - CrowdStrike (CRWD) stock has experienced a decline from its peak of $517.98 on July 3, currently trading at $465.26, yet remains up 35% year-to-date, indicating potential for recovery as it approaches key support levels [1] Group 1: Stock Performance and Trends - CRWD shares are currently down 0.4% from their recent peak, but the stock has shown resilience with a 35% increase year-to-date [1] - The stock is close to the 80-day moving average, which historically has led to bullish movements, suggesting a potential upward pivot [1] - Over the past three years, similar signals have resulted in a 75% success rate for price increases one month later, with an average gain of 6.2%, indicating a potential recovery above $494 [2] Group 2: Market Sentiment and Options Trading - Short-term options traders are exhibiting a bearish sentiment, as indicated by a put/call open interest ratio of 1.32, which is in the 98th percentile of annual readings, suggesting that unwinding this pessimism could benefit CRWD [4] - The Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) for CRWD is at 36%, in the 5th percentile of its annual range, indicating that options traders are anticipating low volatility, which may present an affordable trading opportunity [5]

Core Insights - CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. has seen a significant stock price increase of 37.6% in 2025, recovering from a previous outage and nearly doubling its value since then [1][3][2] - The company's stock is currently trading at a price-to-sales ratio of 28x, which is a premium compared to historical averages and industry peers [3] - The demand for cybersecurity solutions is at an all-time high, which may justify the premium valuation of CrowdStrike's stock [4] Company Overview - CrowdStrike's Falcon platform integrates AI capabilities, with features like the Threat Graph engine that analyzes trillions of signals daily to detect threats [5][6] - The company has been leveraging AI since its inception, appealing to customers seeking intelligent and easy-to-integrate cybersecurity solutions [7] Market Dynamics - The rise of AI has complicated cybersecurity, necessitating companies like CrowdStrike to be agile in their responses to cyber threats [8][9] - CrowdStrike's end-to-end cloud-native design provides a competitive advantage, allowing it to embed AI deeply into its platform, unlike competitors who may need to pursue mergers and acquisitions to enhance their AI capabilities [9] Financial Performance - Recent earnings reports indicate that CrowdStrike has generated record net new annual recurring revenue (ARR), a crucial metric for software companies [10] - The company is successfully acquiring revenue from both public sector and enterprise clients, often winning customers from legacy cybersecurity firms [11] Stock Forecast - The 12-month stock price forecast for CrowdStrike is $461.17, indicating a potential downside of 2.33% from the current price [13] - Despite a recent decline of about 5.5% in the last 30 days, there has been a reversal in the last week, suggesting cautious optimism among investors [13] Options Market Activity - The options market shows significant interest in the $460 call option, indicating expectations of a post-earnings price increase [14] - Speculative bets are also being placed on higher-strike calls at $505 and $525, suggesting potential bullish sentiment [14]

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the recent surge in AI-related stocks and highlights that not all of them are good investment opportunities after significant price increases, with analysts expressing concerns about potential declines in certain stocks [1][2]. Group 1: Palantir Technologies - Palantir Technologies has experienced a remarkable stock price increase of 2,290% since the beginning of 2023, leading to a market capitalization exceeding $350 billion [5]. - Analysts are skeptical about the sustainability of Palantir's high valuation, with the lowest price target set at $40, indicating a potential downside of 74% from its current price [6]. - Despite strong revenue growth, including a 71% increase in U.S. commercial revenue in the first quarter, analysts believe the stock's valuation is unjustifiable, trading at 228 times forward earnings and 78 times revenue expectations [7][10]. Group 2: CrowdStrike - CrowdStrike's stock has risen 352% since the start of 2023, reaching a market cap of nearly $120 billion, driven by its Falcon security platform [11]. - Analysts have downgraded CrowdStrike's stock ratings, with the lowest price target suggesting a 26% decline from its current price [12]. - The stock trades at a price-to-sales ratio of 22 times revenue expectations and 135 times earnings estimates, making it one of the highest-priced stocks in the S&P 500 by these metrics [16].