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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Oppenheimer in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $385.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $330.00. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.53% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CRM. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.9 %

Salesforce stock opened at $342.12 on Thursday. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $294.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.