What happened Shares of CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ: CRWD), a popular cybersecurity stock, surged 12.5% higher out of the gate Wednesday morning after a sizable "earnings beat" sparked a whole series of hikes to its price target on Wall Street. The stock remains up a healthy 5.8% as of 1:38 p.m. EDT. Expected to report an adjusted loss of $0.06 per share on $165.4 million in sales in its fiscal first quarter of 2020, last night CrowdStrike instead reported a small $0.02 pro forma profit -- and sales of $178.1 million that shot right past the analysts' estimates. Image source: Getty Images. So what Granted, CrowdStrike was not profitable when profit was calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The company lost $0.09 per share, GAAP. But even that was much better than the $0.55 per-share GAAP loss recorded in the prior year's first quarter. And between the unexpectedly strong pro forma number, and the fact that CrowdStrike grew its sales 85% year over year, investors seemed willing to overlook the company's GAAP unprofitability. Now what Wall Street was ebullient -- and rightly so. At last report, TheFly.com had clocked no fewer than 14 separate Wall Street firms raising their price targets on CrowdStrike stock, with analysts ranging from SunTrust, to Needham, to DA Davidson positing that the stock could run as high as $120 a share within a year. (Hint: CrowdStrike stock only costs about $96 and change right now -- that's a 24% profit potential!) It didn't hurt, of course, that CrowdStrike promised Wall Street continued improvement as the year goes on. As of the latest guidance, CrowdStrike is expecting to beat earnings estimates by reporting a pro forma loss of no more than $0.02 per share in the second quarter, and keep on beating them all year long. Full-year (pro forma) earnings are projected to be a loss of $0.05 to $0.08 per share, versus the $0.12 loss than analysts had expected. 10 stocks we like better than CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of April 16, 2020 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source