CrowdStrike soars 12% on earnings beat and raised guidance as it benefits from surge in remote workers

• CrowdStrike soared as much as 12% on Wednesday after reporting strong fiscal first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.
• The cybersecurity firm also raised its fiscal year 2021 guidance as it benefits from a surge in remote workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• Following the results, several Wall Street firms raised their price targets, with potential upside of nearly 20% from current levels.
• Shares of CrowdStrike are up 95% year-to-date.
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CrowdStrike soared as much as 12% to $103.76 on Wednesday after reporting strong fiscal first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.

The cybersecurity firm crushed its own first quarter revenue guidance as it benefited from a surge in remote workers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are the key numbers:

Revenue: $178.1 million, versus the $165.4 million estimate
Adjusted earnings per share: 2 cents, versus the -6 cents estimate
Fiscal year 2021 revenue guidance: $761.2 million to $772.6 million, versus previous guidance of $723.3 million to $733.5 million

Revenue growth of 85% for the quarter was higher than the company's guidance for revenue growth of 73%, and the company achieved non-GAAP operating profitability for the first time in its history.

CrowdStrike added 830 new subscription customers in the first quarter, bringing its total subscription base to 6,261 customers, according to the company.

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Analysts at Stifel were impressed with CrowdStrike's earnings, and expect more gains to come.

The firm upgraded CrowdStrike to a buy rating and increased its price target to $108, representing 8% upside from Monday's opening price of $100.

"Looking at CrowdStrike's F1Q21 results, we would be hard-pressed to believe that the company was operating in the middle of a series of global crises," Stifel said in a note published Tuesday.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan raised its price target to $120, representing 20% upside from Wednesday's opening price of $100.

The bank sees CrowdStrike benefiting from two trends: companies migrating to the cloud, which has accelerated as employees work remotely due to COVID-19, and market share taking from legacy cybersecurity technologies.

"We believe these factors are major reasons for the excellent growth dynamics [at CrowdStrike]," JPMorgan said in a note published on Wednesday.

CrowdStrike is up 95% year-to-date.