Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Cowen Analyst Says

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $290.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price suggests a potential downside of 0.62% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.37.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $342.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $294.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.66.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Salesforce

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.