Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $345.00 to $310.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.16% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $297.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $329.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.21. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.