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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $405.00 to $393.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 59.15% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $246.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.56. The stock has a market cap of $237.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,312.44. This represents a 41.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,654 shares of company stock valued at $14,124,094. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in Salesforce by 926.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.