By Kit Norton

Shares of Netskope declined sharply Thursday after the company reported mixed fiscal 2027 first-quarter earnings, with underwhelming new annual recurring revenue.

A slew of Wall Street firms lowered price targets on the cybersecurity company.

Netskope stock sank 20% to $9.82 on Thursday, putting it on pace for its largest ever daily percentage decline. The stock ended Wednesday trading up 2.6% to $12.40. Netskope shares have fallen 57% been since debuting on Sept. 18, 2025.

By the numbers, the cybersecurity company reported that revenue grew 28% to $201.6 million, beating analysts' calls for $198.2 million. The company announced a loss of 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of 28 cents a year ago and narrower than Wall Street's expectation of a loss of 7 cents.

Netskope saw annual recurring revenue grow 29% to $845 million. The annual recurring revenue was the focal point for Wall Street. The number implies net additions of $34 million, which was above the analyst consensus but below the upside scenario of around $40 million.

The annual recurring revenue results overshadowed the better-than-expected top- and bottom-line numbers and the company's decision to raise the midpoint of its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to $881 million from $873 million and above Wall Street's $875 million view.

The company also announced Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Drew Del Matto plans to retire.

Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer lowered his price target to $16 from $19 but maintained his Outperform rating on the shares.

Schafer noted that Netskope's mixed earnings for the quarter, ended April 30, were a beat on revenue and margins but net-new annual recurring revenue was modest and underperformed elevated Wall Street expectations.

The analyst added that raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance "gives management little room for any missteps."

Separately, BTIG analysts Gray Powell and Trevor Rambo reduced their Netskope price target to $14 from $17 but maintained their Buy rating.

Powell and Rambo wrote that Netskope fiscal first-quarter results were "decent."

"We see NTSK as a top-three vendor and one of two pure-plays addressing a large and rapidly growing market for secure access service edge (SASE), " the analysts wrote.

Some on Wall Street said they believe the market reaction to Netskope's earnings is overblown.

Rosenblatt on Thursday maintained its Buy rating on Netskope with a $15 price target. The firm noted that the post-earnings selloff is almost entirely due to the company's net new annual recurring revenue of $34 million, with news of the financial chief retirement adding an "incremental overhang."

Rosenblatt analysts pointed to Netskope's artificial-intelligence security product pipeline "growing faster than any new product category in company history."

Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

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June 04, 2026 09:46 ET (13:46 GMT)

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