Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $405.00 to $393.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 59.15% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $246.93 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $282.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.56. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $237.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,654 shares of company stock valued at $14,124,094. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.