Analyst Ratings February 24, 2026

D.A. Davidson Initiates Coverage on Rubrik With Buy Rating, Cites Data Security and AI Tailwinds

Analyst sets $65 target as firm points to backup market resilience and accelerating subscription traction

By Nina Shah RBRK
D.A. Davidson Initiates Coverage on Rubrik With Buy Rating, Cites Data Security and AI Tailwinds
RBRK

D.A. Davidson began coverage of Rubrik Inc. (RBRK) with a Buy rating and a $65 price target, highlighting the company’s strength in backup and recovery, gains in data security posture management and identity resilience, and potential from a new AI Operations platform. The analyst noted Rubrik’s recent revenue growth, high gross margin, and recent operational beats, while other firms have maintained favorable ratings amid a recent pullback in the stock.

Key Points

  • D.A. Davidson initiated coverage of Rubrik (RBRK) with a Buy rating and a $65 price target; the stock was trading around $47.26, near its 52-week low.
  • Rubrik reported 49% revenue growth over the last twelve months and a 79% gross profit margin; the company beat fiscal Q3 2026 estimates for revenue, subscription ARR, operating income, and free cash flow, and added about $95 million in net new subscription ARR.
  • The firm highlighted traction in data security posture management and identity resilience, plus the potential of a new AI Operations platform; peers trade at roughly 8x revenue or 27x free cash flow versus D.A. Davidson’s target multiples of 6.5x revenue and 33x free cash flow for fiscal 2028.

D.A. Davidson has opened coverage of Rubrik Inc. (NYSE: RBRK) with a Buy recommendation and a price target of $65, according to analyst Rudy Kessinger. The stock was trading at $47.26 at the time of the note, close to its 52-week low of $46.36.

The firm pointed to the recent retreat in the share price as creating an attractive entry point for what it characterizes as a high-growth enterprise. In its initiation, D.A. Davidson argued that the backup and recovery market is in better shape than prevailing narratives indicate, and that Rubrik is well positioned to capture growth both within its core business and in adjacent areas.

D.A. Davidson highlighted Rubrik’s momentum beyond backup and recovery, noting particular traction in data security posture management and identity resilience. The analyst also flagged Rubrik’s new AI Operations platform as a potential incremental growth driver for the company.

Financially, Rubrik reported strong top-line expansion, with revenue growing 49% over the last twelve months and a reported gross profit margin of 79%, figures cited from InvestingPro data. D.A. Davidson translated the $65 price target into valuation multiples of 6.5 times enterprise value to fiscal 2028 revenue and 33 times enterprise value to fiscal 2028 free cash flow, metrics the firm used to frame its outlook. For comparison, the firm noted that high-growth peers trade at about 8 times revenue or 27 times free cash flow.

The initiation came amid recent corporate updates and third-quarter fiscal 2026 results that outperformed analyst expectations across several key financial measures. Rubrik beat consensus estimates for revenue, subscription annual recurring revenue (ARR), operating income, and free cash flow. The company also added roughly $95 million in net new subscription ARR in the quarter, which the coverage note cited as evidence of accelerating platform adoption.

Market participants have responded to those developments with continued positive stances. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an Overweight rating following the quarter, and Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating with a $120 price target even after a 17% pullback in the stock tied to an in-kind distribution by Lightspeed and a broader selloff in high-growth security software shares.

Rubrik’s product and commercial developments were also detailed in recent announcements. The company launched Rubrik Security Cloud Sovereign, a solution intended to give organizations full control over their data while meeting jurisdictional requirements. Separately, Rubrik entered a multi-year technology partnership with McLaren Racing, becoming an Official Partner focused on strengthening data security for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team and the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team. Leadership changes were disclosed as well, with Jesse Green elevated to Chief Revenue Officer after serving as President of Rubrik Americas.


Context and observations

D.A. Davidson’s initiation emphasizes both product diversification and continued subscription momentum as central to Rubrik’s thesis. The valuation multiples underpinning the $65 target reflect expectations for revenue and free cash flow progress through fiscal 2028, while peer multiples provide a comparative frame. The recent operational beats and the addition of net new subscription ARR were cited as supporting evidence for the firm’s growth view.

Investors should note the coexistence of strong reported growth and elevated valuation metrics in some analytic views. InvestingPro data referenced in the initiation also suggests the company is currently trading above its Fair Value on that platform, and that additional research and tips are available to subscribers through InvestingPro’s Pro Research Report.


Bottom line

D.A. Davidson’s Buy initiation and $65 price target rest on Rubrik’s market position in backup and recovery, expansion into data security and identity resilience, traction in subscription ARR, and potential upside from an AI Operations platform. The firm’s valuation benchmarks and other analysts’ continued positive ratings underscore differing views on the stock’s near-term price action and longer-term growth prospects.

Risks

  • Valuation divergence - InvestingPro data cited in the initiation indicates Rubrik is trading above its Fair Value on that platform, presenting valuation risk for investors; this affects equity and software security sector valuations.
  • Market volatility and stock liquidity events - a recent 17% pullback was attributed to an in-kind distribution by Lightspeed and a wider selloff in high-growth security software stocks, highlighting susceptibility to shareholder actions and sector-wide de-risking.
  • Execution risk on new initiatives - the company’s growth case relies in part on traction in newer areas such as data security posture management, identity resilience, and the AI Operations platform, which introduces execution and product-adoption uncertainty for enterprise software and cybersecurity markets.

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