Shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD -1.77%) surged higher on Monday. The company's stock had gained 3.7% as of 10:50 a.m. ET but had been up as much as 5.4% earlier in the day. The move up comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
The cybersecurity company received a rating upgrade from analysts at BTIG, and that seemed to be driving investor optimism.
A buy rating
Brokerage and investment bank BTIG upgraded its CrowdStrike rating from neutral to buy on Tuesday. The analysts there reportedly believe that there is a clearer picture of CrowdStrike's revenue growth over the next two years. They see a potential 2.5% to 8% upside to current Wall Street forecasts for the company's fiscal 2027 annual recurring revenue (ARR), a key metric. The company's fiscal 2027 will end in January 2027.
The research note from BTIG said that CrowdStirke "has demonstrated its dominance in the core endpoint security target market," according to a report from Investing.com. BTIG believes ARR growth will accelerate in the second half of 2026, reaching $6.2 billion to $6.6 billion in FY27 and eventually reaching $10 billion before CrowdStrike's own target of 2031.
CrowdStrike has recovered
CrowdStrike suffered a major outage last year that led to millions of systems crashing. It's been called the largest in history. The company's stock dropped nearly 50% after the event, and its reputation suffered. However, it worked diligently to right the wrong; its stock has now fully recovered and the majority of analysts following the company rate the stock as a buy. However, it is quite expensive, currently trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of more than 100.
