Oppenheimer Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price dropped by Oppenheimer from $415.00 to $380.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CRM. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

CRM opened at $297.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $329.11 and its 200 day moving average is $307.21.

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 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $1,173,564,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $733,805,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.