Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CRM. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $289.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Salesforce from an “overweight” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.98.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $227.22 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $239.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.24. Salesforce has a one year low of $146.32 and a one year high of $269.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. The trade was a 28.66% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. 626 Financial LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 6.3% in the third quarter. 626 Financial LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 33,676 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 6,662 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,142 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 3,246 shares during the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,226,000. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $336,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Salesforce to Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” citing improving earnings prospects. Zacks upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: A historical review notes that after Salesforce shares previously fell at least 50% from a record high, they rose about 63% and 44% in the following years. Past performance does not guarantee a repeat. Historical performance analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce agreed to acquire AI startup Cresta for about $2.7 billion, its fifth major acquisition this year. The deal could expand its AI capabilities, though the pace of acquisitions raises questions about integration. Cresta acquisition announcement
• Negative Sentiment: S&P Global Ratings cut Salesforce’s credit rating to “A” from “A+,” citing acquisition spending and a $25 billion debt-financed share repurchase program. The agency said pro forma net debt-to-EBITDA exceeded its prior 2x downgrade threshold, highlighting increased financial risk. S&P rating downgrade report
• Negative Sentiment: ETFs were net sellers of $15.2 million in Salesforce shares on Nov. 2, a modest potential source of selling pressure. ETF flows report

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.