Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Wedbush in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $425.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $351.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $335.92 billion, a PE ratio of 57.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $320.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.44. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total transaction of $1,526,771.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,723.86. The trade was a 77.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’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 $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 28.0% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $463,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,894,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $821,000. 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.