Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $345.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 41.41% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $316.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $243.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $236.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.68. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total value of $3,626,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,940,152,355.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total transaction of $3,626,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.64, for a total transaction of $1,437,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,855 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,732.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,692 shares of company stock worth $21,006,957. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is 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.