Canaccord Genuity Group Cuts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $400.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $415.00 to $400.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 35.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $13.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $294.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,426,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,634,473. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.97. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $733,805,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares in 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.