Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded to Buy at TD Cowen

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was upgraded by stock analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $400.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $380.00. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential upside of 24.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CRM. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CRM opened at $320.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.87. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.