Something unusual is happening in cybersecurity.
The technology that many investors feared could make software companies obsolete is instead creating a new revenue stream for CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD).
Shares surged as much as 18% Thursday, putting CrowdStrike on track for one of the biggest single-day gains in its history. The move came after the company delivered what analysts called its strongest quarter yet.
But the earnings beat is not the real story. The bigger surprise is that AI agents are becoming customers for CrowdStrike’s security business.
The company appears to be turning artificial intelligence from a threat to cybersecurity into a new source of demand.
That distinction is driving a wave of analyst target increases. Eleven Wall Street firms raised their price targets Thursday.
Chart: Crowdstrike Holdings Eye Best Session Gain In Company’s History
The Street Rushes To Raise Target on CRWD
CrowdStrike generated $1.47 billion in revenue, up 25.8% year over year and above the $1.44 billion consensus.
Eleven firms raised their price targets on Thursday, according to Benzinga Analyst Ratings.
The consensus rating across 34 analysts is Buy, with one strong buy, 25 buys and eight holds.
RBC Capital raised its target to $260 from $256. UBS, Rosenblatt, Scotiabank and Needham moved to $250. DA Davidson raised its target to $245, while Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $238.
The bullish case is increasingly tied to CrowdStrike’s ability to monetize AI security.
"They did what they said they would and more," Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci said.
| Date | Firm | Price Target | Action | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2026 | RBC Capital | $256 → $260 | PT Raise | Outperform |
| Aug 27, 2026 | UBS | $235 → $250 | PT Raise | Buy |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Rosenblatt | $206 → $250 | PT Raise | Buy |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Scotiabank | $227 → $250 | PT Raise | Sector Outperform |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Needham | $235 → $250 | PT Raise | Buy |
| Aug 27, 2026 | DA Davidson | $191 → $245 | PT Raise | Buy |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Keybanc | $240 → $245 | PT Raise | Overweight |
| Aug 27, 2026 | BTIG | $237 → $245 | PT Raise | Buy |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Morgan Stanley | $227 → $238 | PT Raise | Overweight |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Evercore ISI | $205 → $210 | PT Raise | In-Line |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Bernstein | $103 → $119 | PT Raise | Market Perform |
"The Mythos moment has evolved from a conceptual AI Security opportunity into a tangible monetization engine," StoneX analyst Yi Fu Lee said in a note.
The numbers support that view.
AI Detection and Response, or AIDR, nearly tripled its annual recurring revenue sequentially. Cloud Security, Next-Gen SIEM and Identity Protection also continued to grow rapidly.
And AIDR is not replacing an existing product. It is an additional paid module that runs through CrowdStrike’s existing Falcon platform.
As companies deploy more AI agents, they create more systems, identities and data that need protection.
CrowdStrike is already seeing that demand.
Endpoint revenue accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter, despite concerns that AI could reduce the importance of traditional endpoint security.
StoneX found Claude usage on sampled endpoints had grown more than 400%, while custom AI agent usage increased more than 100%.
"It’s clear that we are in a new golden age of cybersecurity," Scotiabank analyst Patrick Colville said in a report.
Scotiabank raised its target to $250 from $227 after the quarter. The bank highlighted accelerating endpoint security growth and expanding demand for new cybersecurity modules.
"Securing AI workloads favors breadth of telemetry over point-product depth," Rosenblatt analyst Catharine Trebnick added.
A New Cybersecurity Story?
The market had spent years asking whether AI would eventually hurt cybersecurity software. CrowdStrike just delivered a different answer.
AI is creating more machines, more software and more data to protect, and CrowdStrike is already turning that complexity into new recurring revenue.
Photo: Michael Vi / Shutterstock
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