Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $325.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Salesforce's price target has been lowered from $375.00 to $325.00 by Stifel Nicolaus, still maintaining a "buy" rating which suggests potential upside of 40.45% from the stock's previous close.
• A recent earnings report showed that Salesforce beat estimates with earnings per share of $2.58, alongside a revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, indicating a 7.6% year-over-year growth.
• The stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $346.84, supported by a mix of buy and hold ratings from various analysts.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $375.00 to $325.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective indicates a potential upside of 40.45% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.84.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $231.40 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a one year low of $226.48 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $262.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.22 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.30, for a total transaction of $585,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,955,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,112,033,829.80. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 44,282 shares of company stock worth $11,554,754 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 818,749 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $223,265,000 after buying an additional 6,345 shares during the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 38,060 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $10,378,000 after purchasing an additional 5,750 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 182.5% in the 2nd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 2,462 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 21,541 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 55.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 63,119 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $17,258,000 after purchasing an additional 22,445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.