Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Earns Outperform Rating from Oppenheimer

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by stock analysts at Oppenheimer in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $330.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $300.00. Oppenheimer’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.32% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. FBN Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded up $1.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $286.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 831,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,337,286. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $268.70 and its 200-day moving average is $263.24. The company has a market capitalization of $277.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,251,239.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 86,812 shares of company stock worth $23,418,916. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.