Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $300.00 to $420.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 17.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on CRM. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.50.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $26.47 on Wednesday, reaching $357.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,265,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,353,172. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $368.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $342.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.68, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

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