Q3 Earnings Alert! Plan early for this week’s stock reports with all key data in 1 placeSee list

Truist Securities cuts Salesforce stock target, maintains Buy rating

EditorTanya Mishra
Published 09/19/2024, 08:27 AM
© Reuters.
CRM
-

Truist Securities has revised its price target for Salesforce.com (NYSE: NYSE:CRM), a leading cloud-based software company, to $300 from the previous $315.

However, the firm maintains a Buy rating on the stock. The decision comes amidst discussions of various key topics at the Dreamforce event, including the introduction of Agentforce, Data Cloud, and the strategic partnership with NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), as well as the recent acquisition of Own Co.

The analyst at Truist Securities expressed confidence in Salesforce's ability to continue generating compounding profits and free cash flow (FCF). They highlighted the company's well-developed strategy for capital allocation and deployment.

The firm believes that Salesforce is poised for increased subscription revenue growth in the fiscal year 2026 and beyond. The optimism is attributed to a variety of product innovations and catalysts that are either currently available in the market or are expected to be introduced soon.

The analyst's commentary did not include any changes to earnings estimates but emphasized the potential for Salesforce's growth trajectory. The strategic moves and innovations mentioned are seen as drivers for the company's future performance.

In other recent news, Salesforce reported strong second-quarter earnings, with earnings per share hitting $2.56, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.36 and the previous year's figure of $2.12.

The company also noted an 8% increase in sales, largely driven by a 9% rise in subscription and support revenues. In addition, Salesforce announced a definitive agreement to acquire Own Company, a provider of data protection and management solutions, for $1.9 billion in cash.

In the analyst realm, Mizuho Securities and Evercore ISI maintained their Outperform rating on Salesforce, citing confidence in the company's strategic direction. However, Erste Group downgraded Salesforce's stock from Buy to Hold due to projected slower growth.

Among other recent developments, Salesforce and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have announced a partnership to integrate advanced AI capabilities and autonomous agents into Salesforce’s platform. The company also reported a significant increase in the adoption of its Data Cloud platform, with a 130% year-over-year growth in its paid customer base.


InvestingPro Insights


As Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) continues to make strategic moves, real-time data from InvestingPro provides additional context to its current market position and future potential. With a robust market capitalization of $241.32 billion, Salesforce demonstrates significant industry presence. The company's gross profit margin impressively stands at 76.35% for the last twelve months as of Q1 2023, highlighting its efficiency in generating profit from its revenues. Moreover, the revenue growth of 10.26% over the same period indicates a steady upward trajectory for the company.

InvestingPro Tips further enrich this perspective, revealing that Salesforce has a perfect Piotroski Score of 9, suggesting strong financial health. Additionally, the company's management has been actively buying back shares, a move often interpreted as confidence in the company's value and prospects. For readers seeking more in-depth analysis, there are 13 additional InvestingPro Tips available, which delve into various aspects of Salesforce's performance and market outlook.

With these insights, investors can better understand the factors contributing to Salesforce's valuation and the optimism surrounding its future, as reflected in the maintained Buy rating from Truist Securities. The strategic partnership with NVIDIA and the acquisition of Own Co. are just a few of the catalysts that could propel Salesforce's growth, supported by solid financial metrics and a positive market sentiment.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.