Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $345.00 to $375.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.03% from the company’s current price.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.60.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $331.77 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $348.86. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $304.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.14. The firm has a market cap of $317.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.70, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.