- One of the cybersecurity sector’s hottest stocks
- Shares have rallied more than 40% so far in 2024
- S&P 500 inclusion will force index funds to buy stock
Just days after posting forecast-busting quarterly earnings and revenue, cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike (CRWD:NASDAQ) has won a coveted spot in the S&P 500 index.
Its inclusion in the US benchmark index, from 21 June, comes following the S&P 500’s quarterly rebalancing and reflects the company’s improved fundamentals, driven by ‘increased focus on balancing growth and operating efficiency over the past few years’, said JPMorgan analysts in a note.
Crowdstrike stock is primed to jump as investors pile in ahead of hundreds of S&P 500 index tracker ETFs and funds rebalance their holdings to reflect the new entrant. Pre-market data on Monday (10 Jun) has the stock rallying more than 5% to $367.47, which would be an all-time high for the Austin, Texas-based business.
It marks a stellar first half of 2024 for Crowdstrike, which has run up more than 40% year-to-date. First quarter fiscal 2025 figures (to 31 Jan) reported last week (4 Jun) bolstered investor confidence, with Crowdstrike reporting adjusted EPS (earnings per share) of $0.93 on revenue of $921 million, beating analyst estimates for EPS of $0.89 on revenue of $904.6 million.
It also nudged up full year 2025 guidance, now seeing adjusted EPS in the range of $3.93 to $4.03 on revenue between $3.98 billion and $4.01 billion. That’s better than previous consensus of $3.77 to $3.97 EPS on $3.92 billion to $3.99 billion revenue, significantly on the earnings line.
