Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given Sell Rating at Guggenheim

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reaffirmed by Guggenheim in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $247.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 17.01% from the company’s previous close.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $297.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.