Salesforce Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CRM)

Key Points

• Salesforce saw a significant increase in options trading, with investors purchasing 131,900 call options, marking a 104% rise compared to the average daily volume.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a mixed outlook for Salesforce, with target prices ranging from $276 to $405 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In insider activity, Director David Blair Kirk increased ownership by 801.89%, purchasing 3,400 shares at $254.66 each, while CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares at $251.94.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 131,900 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 104% compared to the typical daily volume of 64,647 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Salesforce from $347.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Twenty-six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.58.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $973,819.84. This trade represents a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.94, for a total value of $566,865.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,001,001,197.74. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,750 shares of company stock worth $19,747,868. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth $2,826,049,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth about $2,039,196,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 27,361.5% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $933,737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411,700 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,729.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973,141 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $538,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longview Partners Guernsey LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $467,944,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.3%

Salesforce stock opened at $245.85 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $226.48 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $246.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.80. The company has a market capitalization of $234.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 24.13%.

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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