Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $300.00

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus lowered its price target for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from $325.00 to $300.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 22.75%.
• Salesforce's stock price increased by 1.6%, reaching $244.39 during trading hours, amid various target price adjustments from other analysts.
• Salesforce reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.91 EPS for the recent quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.13 and showing a 9.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $325.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target would suggest a potential upside of 22.75% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CRM. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on 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 raised 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, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Salesforce from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.89.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of CRM traded up $3.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $244.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,762,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,633,976. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $259.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. The company's 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.42, for a total value of $567,945.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,006,718,751.82. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,750 shares of company stock valued at $19,679,535. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in Salesforce by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 691 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $242,000. Sheets Smith Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $226,000. Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.5% in the third quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 89,490 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $21,209,000 after purchasing an additional 10,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the third quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 7,916 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.