PREVIEW: CrowdStrike hits fresh record heading into report

CrowdStrike's CRWD.O shares up 0.8% at $482.82 after hitting fresh record high on Tues as c ybersecurity firm slated to report fiscal Q1 results after the bell

For qtr-end Apr, Wall Street anticipates CRWD to post rev of $1.1 bln, up 20% y/y, and adj EPS of 65 cents, down from 93 cents a yr-ago, latest LSEG data reflects

Wedbush on Tues boosted its PT by $50 to $525 on greater confidence in CRWD growth story

Pointing to AI as a "clear headwind", Wedbush said it believes increased market and mind share is happening for CRWD among new and existing customers as its product suite continues to expand across the enterprise landscape over the next 12-18 months

Over the past week, at least five other brokerages have hiked their PTs, including Barclays and JP Morgan to $500, and Wells Fargo to $550, highest on the Street, per LSEG

Last month, CRWD said it would cut about 5% of its workforce, reaffirmed its Q1 rev forecast, and reiterated full-yr guidance of $4.74-$4.81 bln in rev and $3.33-$3.45 in adj profit/sh

Analysts have said CRWD's prompt handling of last year's Windows outage, which triggered a global tech meltdown, helped co maintain customer trust

Of 53 brokerages covering CRWD, recommendation breakdown is 40 "strong buy" or "buy", 11 "hold" and 2 "sell" or "strong sell"

Median PT of $420 up from $410 a month ago and from $405 on Mar 3

With move on Tues, CRWD shares up 41% YTD compared to just fractional gains in the Nasdaq .IXIC and S&P 500 Tech sector .SPLRCT