Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Loop Capital Analyst Says

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Loop Capital from $270.00 to $340.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Loop Capital’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.53% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.51.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.9 %

CRM opened at $325.28 on Thursday. 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 has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.30. The company has a market cap of $310.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,178,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 80.9% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 49,513 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $14,912,000 after purchasing an additional 22,145 shares during the period. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $345,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.