JMP Securities Reiterates Market Outperform Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at JMP Securities in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $450.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.30% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.50.

Salesforce Stock Up 11.0 %

CRM stock opened at $367.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.81. The company has a market capitalization of $351.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. 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 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

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

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.