Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $345.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $278.02 and last traded at $276.89. Approximately 1,455,012 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,337,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $280.75.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 7,934 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 1,319 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,051,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $317.05 and its 200-day moving average is $309.53. The firm has a market cap of $266.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

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.