Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has reiterated an **"overweight" rating** on Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) with a price target of **$325.00**, indicating a potential upside of **30.05%** from its current price.
• The average analyst rating for Salesforce is **"Moderate Buy"**, with an **average price target** of **$340.54** based on various recent ratings from different firms.
• Salesforce reported a quarterly earnings of **$2.58 per share**, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing a **7.6% year-over-year revenue increase** to **$9.83 billion**.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $325.00 price target on the CRM provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective suggests a potential upside of 30.05% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on CRM. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.54.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $249.91 on Thursday. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $257.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $238.92 billion, a PE ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.57, for a total value of $557,032.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,948,947,632.47. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 57,077 shares of company stock valued at $14,642,478 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $24,221,275,000 after purchasing an additional 909,853 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $13,452,998,000 after purchasing an additional 776,300 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,669,224,000 after acquiring an additional 114,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $2,826,049,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,484,616,000 after buying an additional 600,386 shares during 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.

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