CrowdStrike or cybersecurity firm shares dropped 13% on Monday. This happened after a software issue caused problems for many Microsoft Windows devices. The problem started on Friday. A bad update from CrowdStrike made computers and screens crash. This affected flights and medical visits. Microsoft said the problem hit 8.5 million devices, which is less than 1% of all Windows devices.
IT staff quickly tried to fix the computers. Hackers tried to trick people with fake websites offering updates. This cybersecurity firm’ CEO, George Kurtz, talked about this on media with Jim Cramer.
CrowdStrike shares went down 11% on Friday. Over the weekend, people posted pictures of the “blue screen of death” on social media. This showed that computers needed help. On Sunday, cybersecurity firm said they were testing a new fix.
Guggenheim Securities changed their rating of cybersecurity firm from “buy” to “neutral” on Sunday. Analyst John DiFucci said the stock price was still high. He said it might take time for CrowdStrike to fix its image. This issue could hurt new contracts.
CrowdStrike Evaluates Business Impact Amid Ongoing Changes
DiFucci said they still respected the cybersecurity firm’s leaders. He believed the company would get stronger. He said investors with a long-term view might be okay. But he did not recommend buying CrowdStrike shares now.
Goldman Sachs kept their “buy” rating on cybersecurity firm shares. They said deals might take longer to close until July 31. This is the end of CrowdStrike’s second quarter.
Goldman Sachs analysts, led by Gabriela Borges, said they talked to many people. They thought the issue would not change market share much. They mentioned a similar event in 2010 with McAfee. That caused crashes too. At that time, McAfee lost $6 million in deferred revenue. Their total revenue was also down by $14 million. Dave DeWalt, McAfee’s CEO then, talked about this. Kurtz was McAfee’s chief technology officer at the time.
One month later, Intel said it wanted to buy McAfee for $7.7 billion.
The cybersecurity firm said on Monday that the situation is still changing. They are still checking the impact on their business.
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