Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Lowered to Sell at Guggenheim

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Guggenheim from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $247.00 price objective on the CRM provider's stock. Guggenheim's target price would suggest a potential downside of 25.11% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.39.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE CRM traded down $3.08 on Monday, hitting $329.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,778,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,895,854. The firm has a market cap of $315.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.25, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $333.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,186,017 shares of company stock worth $405,971,793 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 421.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 165,858 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $42,633,000 after acquiring an additional 134,079 shares during the last quarter. Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,263 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,891 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,086,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 97,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $25,077,000 after acquiring an additional 12,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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.