This cybersecurity stock may benefit from shift to AI-powered solutions, Wolfe Research says
CrowdStrike Holdings has room to run as Anthropic’s rollout of its latest artificial intelligence model seems to fuel interest in AI-powered cybersecurity solutions, according to Wolfe Research. The research firm upgraded its rating for CrowdStrike to outperform from peer perform. It also put a $450 price target on shares, implying roughly 21% upside from Friday’s close. “Anthropic’s upcoming [AI] model release [with cybersecurity capabilities] has the potential to ignite a machine speed cyberwar the likes of which we have never seen,” Wolfe Research analyst Joshua Tilton said Monday in a note to clients. “We believe this could drive more vendor consolidation and tailwinds for CRWD, leading to [annual recurring revenue] acceleration in [fiscal year 2027].” Last week, Fortune Magazine reported Anthropic was preparing to release a new artificial intelligence called Mythos that is designed to offer more sophisticated cybersecurity capabilities versus earlier AI models. Following the report, shares of cybersecurity stocks fell as investors weighed concerns that Mythos could “replace, or erode, the pricing power of existing security vendors,” according to Wolfe Research. Nevertheless, Mythos’ rollout could fuel demand for AI-enabled cybersecurity solutions, Tilton said in a note. That would be a boon for CrowdStrike, which runs an advanced cloud-native cybersecurity platform that includes AI-powered capabilities, according to the research firm. “We see this as a potential positive for CRWD who has the brand, armory of tanks, F16s, and Black Hawks (Falcon Platform), Flex contracting, and innovation pipeline to help organizations fight this impending battle both today and in the future,” Tilton wrote. Those factors are likely to contribute to the firm’s ability to grow its annual recurring revenue, “which we expect to be a catalyst for shares to outperform,” the analyst added. Wolfe Research’s call falls in line with consensus on the Street. Of the 55 analysts that cover CrowdStrike, 40 have a buy or strong buy on the stock. Shares have plunged 21% over the past month, underperforming the overall market by roughly a factor of three. However, the stock is still up 3% in the past year.