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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating restated by equities researchers at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $430.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 66.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $258.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $246.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.86. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth $31,000. 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.