CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) shares are dropping on Tuesday as software stocks broadly pull back amid rising bond yields tied to inflation concerns and climbing oil prices, though the move may also reflect a natural cooldown after the stock’s sharp post-earnings run.
- CrowdStrike Holdings stock is feeling bearish pressure. What’s weighing on CRWD shares?
Rising Yields And Oil Prices Weigh On Software Stocks
Bond markets pushed the 10-year Treasury yield up to 4.80% Tuesday, its highest mark since January 2025, while the 30-year climbed to 5.25%, even though the Treasury Department moved back in August to double the size of its long-dated bond buybacks in a bid to keep borrowing costs in check. That effort hasn’t been enough to offset pressure from inflation still running hotter than the Fed would like, paired with a federal deficit that keeps expanding, with total U.S. debt now exceeding $40 trillion.
Crude prices climbed too, with Brent up more than 4% and WTI gaining nearly 3%, after Iran’s president signaled Tehran would respond if Washington upheld a temporary agreement the two countries signed in June, a comment that followed the first direct military clash between the two countries since late July. Higher yields typically hit growth and software names especially hard, since pricier borrowing makes investors value distant future profits less today.
CrowdStrike’s Pullback Follows a Record Quarter and More Price Target Hikes
CrowdStrike’s decline also comes after a sharp run higher following its second-quarter report, which CEO George Kurtz described as “the best quarter in CrowdStrike’s history.”
The cybersecurity firm topped Wall Street’s targets on both lines, pulling in $1.47 billion in revenue against a $1.44 billion estimate while adjusted profit landed at 31 cents a share versus the 29-cent consensus. Annual recurring revenue climbed to $5.84 billion, and management lifted its full-year outlook to a revenue range of $5.99 billion to $6.01 billion alongside adjusted earnings guidance of $1.25 to $1.26 per share.
Wall Street kept raising the bar for CrowdStrike in the days that followed. Truist Securities lifted its target to $300 on Sept. 1, Argus Research raised its target to $425 on Aug. 28, and Wells Fargo raised its target to $235 the same day, with CrowdStrike carrying an average price target of $243.07 and an overall Buy rating on Wall Street. Given that wave of positive analyst action, today’s pullback may reflect profit-taking after the stock’s post-earnings surge rather than a shift in sentiment toward the company itself.
Palo Alto Networks Reports Tonight, Offering Another Cybersecurity Read
That same demand story gets tested again tonight, when fellow cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) unveils its own fourth-quarter numbers after markets close, hoping the results help push its shares back toward record territory.
Wall Street is projecting $3.35 billion in revenue, a figure that would top every prior quarter in the company’s history, alongside earnings of 98 cents per share. Palo Alto has cleared Wall Street’s revenue bar for 11 consecutive quarters running and has beaten profit expectations in eight of its last ten.
CRWD Shares Are Falling
CRWD Price Action: CrowdStrike shares were down 7.32% at $214.10 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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