Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Key Points

• Truist cut its Salesforce price target from $400 to $380 but kept a "buy" rating, saying the new target implies roughly a 52.96% upside from the stock's current price.
• Analyst consensus remains positive with a "Moderate Buy" rating: 29 analysts rate CRM a Buy, 12 Hold and 1 Sell, and the consensus target price is $326.27.
• Salesforce recently beat quarterly EPS ($3.25 vs. $2.86 expected) while revenue of $10.26B was essentially in line; the stock traded at $248.43 and the company has a market cap of about $236.5B.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $400.00 to $380.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Truist Financial's target price would indicate a potential upside of 52.96% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $404.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $326.27.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $9.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $248.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,223,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,752,544. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.10. The company has a market cap of $236.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.25. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $221.96 and a 1 year high of $367.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.00, for a total value of $31,598.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,085,096,889. The trade was a 0.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total transaction of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,803,314.90. This represents a 49.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 184,284 shares of company stock worth $43,862,999 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. KDT Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 5,850 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in Salesforce by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 607 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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