DA Davidson Upgrades Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) to Neutral

Key Points

• DA Davidson has upgraded Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from an "underperform" to a "neutral" rating, setting a price target of $225.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.58% from its current stock price.
• Salesforce recently reported a 7.6% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share of $2.58, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.55.
• The company's average rating stands at "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $347.50, reflecting a generally positive outlook among analysts despite mixed ratings from other research firms.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at DA Davidson from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $225.00 price objective on the CRM provider's stock. DA Davidson's target price suggests a potential downside of 3.58% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on CRM. Stephens decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.50.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of CRM stock opened at $233.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.65. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $226.48 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.44 EPS. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total transaction of $527,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,794,931,019.44. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,532 shares of company stock valued at $12,082,694. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Coign Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. KDT Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the first quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 572 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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