Canaccord Genuity Group Has Lowered Expectations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $415.00 to $400.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 35.94% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $13.09 during trading 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. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $281.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 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.