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Macquarie starts Salesforce stock at Neutral, notes demand uncertainty

EditorAhmed Abdulazez Abdulkadir
Published 12/13/2024, 12:42 AM
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On Thursday, Macquarie initiated coverage on Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM), assigning a Neutral rating to the company's stock with a price target of $12.00. The firm highlighted the balanced nature of potential upside and downside risks for Salesforce shares.

With a market capitalization of $340.43 billion and trading near its 52-week high, InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is slightly undervalued based on its proprietary Fair Value model. The prospects for Salesforce's Agentforce adoption and margin improvement were noted as positive factors. Conversely, concerns were raised about the impact of macroeconomic demand weakness and increasing competition in the industry.

The firm's commentary pointed out that while there are growth opportunities for Salesforce, particularly with the adoption of its Agentforce product, the company is also navigating through challenging economic conditions that could dampen demand.

Nevertheless, the company maintains impressive gross profit margins of 76.94% and boasts a perfect Piotroski Score of 9, according to InvestingPro data, indicating strong financial health. Additionally, the competitive landscape is becoming more fierce, which could pose a threat to Salesforce's market position.

The valuation of Salesforce was deemed fair by Macquarie, taking into account the mixed comparisons across key financial metrics. This assessment suggests that the current stock price reasonably reflects Salesforce's financial health and market prospects, according to the firm's analysis.

The price target of $12.00 is set with consideration of these various factors, indicating the firm's expectation of where the stock price may settle in the near term. This target is based on the firm's evaluation of Salesforce's financial performance and market conditions.

Salesforce.com, a leading provider of customer relationship management software, has been under scrutiny by investors as it navigates through a dynamic and sometimes challenging market environment.

The new coverage by Macquarie provides investors with an additional perspective on the company's stock performance and future outlook. For deeper insights, InvestingPro offers comprehensive analysis with over 15 additional ProTips and detailed financial metrics in its exclusive Pro Research Report, helping investors make more informed decisions about this software industry leader.

In other recent news, Salesforce, Inc. has announced amendments to its bylaws to streamline stockholder processes and ensure alignment with current Delaware General Corporation Law. This move is part of Salesforce's commitment to robust and transparent corporate governance practices. In terms of financial performance, the company reported a revenue growth of 10.26%. Analysts from RBC Capital, BofA Securities, BMO Capital Markets, and Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) have subsequently increased their price targets for Salesforce.

On the product front, Salesforce recently launched Agentforce 2.0, which has seen substantial upsell activities among existing Service Cloud customers. However, Salesforce's outgoing CFO, Amy Weaver, suggested that it may be early for Agentforce to significantly contribute to the company's financials.

In the broader tech sector, the 2025 CIO Survey by Piper Sandler revealed a strong outlook for IT spending, with Salesforce identified as a company positioned to benefit from the increased expenditure.

Analysts from firms including Goldman Sachs, Evercore ISI, Raymond (NS:RYMD) James, and Citi have expressed confidence in Salesforce's potential to achieve significant free cash flow per share in the coming years, supported by sustained top-line growth.

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

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