New York, January 28, 2026, 3:52 PM EST — Regular session
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (CRWD) shares slipped about 1% on Wednesday, retreating late despite fresh recognition from Gartner. The stock dropped $4.62, closing at $472.04, after trading between $471.36 and $486.87 earlier in the session.
Markets slipped as investors remained cautious after the Federal Reserve opted to keep rates unchanged, with key tech earnings coming after the close. Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, said, “The real action will be in the press conference.” 1
Analysts are still treading carefully. On Tuesday, Steve Koenig at Macquarie stuck with a Neutral rating on CrowdStrike, maintaining his $485 price target, according to StreetInsider.com. Another report pointed to valuation concerns as the key factor behind the cautious stance.
On Wednesday, CrowdStrike announced it had earned the “Customers’ Choice” badge in Gartner Peer Insights’ 2026 Voice of the Customer report for endpoint protection platforms — software that blocks attacks on laptops, servers, and other devices. “The strongest validation in cybersecurity comes from customers,” said Elia Zaitsev, CrowdStrike’s chief technology officer. Gartner Peer Insights emphasizes that this award reflects user reviews and adoption data, not a vendor endorsement. 2
Cybersecurity shares were all over the place: Palo Alto Networks gained slightly, Zscaler dropped more than 2%, Fortinet edged up, and SentinelOne remained flat.
CrowdStrike closed Tuesday up 1.78% at $476.66, with volume beating its 50-day average, MarketWatch reports. The stock remains about 16% shy of its November 52-week high of $566.90. 3
Shares continue to face legal and reputational hurdles after the July 2024 outage triggered by a faulty update. While a U.S. judge recently dismissed a shareholder lawsuit, Reuters reported that other cases remain active, including one filed by Delta Air Lines. 4
CrowdStrike’s next earnings report is expected around March 3, based on Nasdaq’s projections. However, the date might shift ahead of any formal confirmation. 5
