Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $405.00 to $398.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 50.74% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.46.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $264.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $221.96 and a 1-year high of $367.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $244.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.39. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 14.41%. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 96,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,994,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,309,155.22. This represents a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total value of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. This represents a 49.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,784 shares of company stock valued at $42,742,994. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 159.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636,161 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,826,049,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 27,361.5% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,700 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $484,852,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1,729.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973,141 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $538,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.