CrowdStrike (CRWD 0.19%) has been on fire recently. Shares of the cybersecurity company have rallied 30% already this year and were recently closing in on $140 a share. According to Wall Street analysts, the company could have a lot further to run. 

Several analysts boosted their price target on CrowdStrike's stock following its investor briefing earlier this month. Here's why they're so bullish on the cybersecurity stock.

Slaying the giant

The central theme of CrowdStrike's April investor briefing was the superiority of its AI-powered platform compared to peers, most notably Microsoft (MSFT 1.12%). CrowdStrike showcased that its platform offers better coverage with less complexity and potential for catastrophe than Microsoft's platform.

CrowdStrike made several points about the supremacy of its platform compared to Microsoft's, including:

  • Microsoft Windows represents 95% of the compromised endpoints it remediates.
  • When CrowdStrike investigates a Microsoft customer suffering a breach, it found the threat had bypassed Microsoft Defender over 75% of the time.

The company also noted that when a customer tests platforms, it chooses CrowdStrike over Microsoft eight out of 10 times.

The cybersecurity company believes its technological leadership will continue driving customers to its platform. CrowdStrike is confident it can reach more than $5 billion of annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of its 2026 fiscal year.

CrowdStrike's ARR grew 48% over the past year and was $2.56 billion at the end of its 2023 fiscal year. Longer term, the company sees the potential for ARR to grow to more than $10 billion. Meanwhile, the company is on track to achieve its target operating model by fiscal year 2025. Delivering on that objective will enable CrowdStrike to generate significant and growing earnings and free cash flow. 

Garnering a positive response

Analysts loved what they saw from the company. Several boosted their price target on the stock following its investor briefing. Piper Sandler analyst Rob Owens has one of the highest price targets on the Street at $180 per share (roughly 30% above the recent price).

Owens wrote that the company's investor briefing "largely reiterated our key thesis points." It views CrowdStrike as a consolidator in the security sector. Its integrated platform enables customers to switch from several vendors to its better and more comprehensive offering and achieve a lower total cost of ownership. 

Needham raised its price target on CrowdStrike from $165 to $170 a share. The firm liked how CrowdStrike directly addressed the bear case. CrowdStrike presented its case that it has a strong, integrated platform that can tackle a wide array of security problems. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analyst Hamza Fodderwala wrote that the bear case is "becoming harder to defend" after the company laid out its goals of reaching $10-plus billion of ARR over the longer term. 

Canaccord analysts came away from the briefing with a more confident view of the company's ability to continue growing. They believe CrowdStrike deserves to trade at a premium valuation compared to its cybersecurity peers, which drives its $175-a-share price target.

Truist also has that price target on CrowdStrike stock. Its analysts have an even greater conviction about the company after coming away from the investor briefing impressed by CrowdStrike's pace of innovation. Similarly, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Jonathan Ruykhaver believes that even though shares have rallied by 30% this year, the stock has ample room to continue running higher.

Well positioned to prosper

CrowdStrike has a technological lead over many cybersecurity rivals, including Microsoft. Because of that, the company should continue to be a consolidator in the sector, stealing market share from competitors as their customers join its integrated platform. That should drive robust growth rates. This means the stock still looks like a compelling buying opportunity for the long term, even after its big rally this year.