最新ニュース Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) 株価情報

Salesforce

Salesforce provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.

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オフィスに戻って仕事することを求める会社が増えている。チームで作業をする会社では、従業員の表情が見えないことを問題視する傾向がある。本来の職場環境を取り戻す動きとして、コロナ収束以降、会社のオフィスにて仕事をするよう求めるになった。

「オフィス復帰命令」自宅勤務に慣れた社員が辞職の事態に

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過去10年間において、Salesforce（NYSE:CRM）は、年率で約4.74%の利益をもたらし、年間平均リターンは15.38%となっている。現在、Salesforceの時価総額は2,335.3億ドルである。

10年前にSalesforceに100ドルを投資したときのリターン

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Salesforce shares are trading higher after TD Cowen upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy and raised its price target from $380 to $400.

TD Cowen analyst J. Derrick Wood upgrades Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) from Hold to Buy and raises the price target from $380 to $400.

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TD Cowen Upgrades Salesforce to Buy, Raises Price Target to $400

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>), and it's something market players shouldn't ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in CRM usually suggests something big is about to happen.
We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 39 extraordinary options activities for Salesforce. This level of activity is out of the ordinary.
The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 41% leaning bullish and 43% bearish. Among these notable options, 9 are puts, totaling $415,819, and 30 are calls, amounting to $1,722,444.
<h3>Projected Price Targets</h3>
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $150.0 to $410.0 for Salesforce over the last 3 months. 
<h3>Volume &amp; Open Interest Trends</h3>
Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Salesforce's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Salesforce's significant trades, within a strike price range of $150.0 to $410.0, over the past month.
<h3>Salesforce 30-Day Option Volume &amp; Interest Snapshot</h3>
<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2025/1737134130_0.png" alt="Options Call Chart" />
<h3>Biggest Options Spotted:</h3>

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Symbol</th>
<th>PUT/CALL</th>
<th>Trade Type</th>
<th>Sentiment</th>
<th>Exp. Date</th>
<th>Ask</th>
<th>Bid</th>
<th>Price</th>
<th>Strike Price</th>
<th>Total Trade Price</th>
<th>Open Interest</th>
<th align="right">Volume</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>06/20/25</td>
<td>$6.7</td>
<td>$6.4</td>
<td>$6.4</td>
<td>$410.00</td>
<td>$160.0K</td>
<td>577</td>
<td align="right">250</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>04/17/25</td>
<td>$26.9</td>
<td>$25.95</td>
<td>$25.95</td>
<td>$320.00</td>
<td>$150.5K</td>
<td>29</td>
<td align="right">61</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$17.3</td>
<td>$16.1</td>
<td>$17.35</td>
<td>$310.00</td>
<td>$100.6K</td>
<td>2.0K</td>
<td align="right">66</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>04/17/25</td>
<td>$16.2</td>
<td>$15.85</td>
<td>$15.94</td>
<td>$340.00</td>
<td>$92.0K</td>
<td>61</td>
<td align="right">58</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>06/20/25</td>
<td>$179.45</td>
<td>$177.8</td>
<td>$177.8</td>
<td>$150.00</td>
<td>$88.9K</td>
<td>33</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<h3>About Salesforce</h3>
Salesforce provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.
In light of the recent options history for Salesforce, it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.
<h3>Current Position of Salesforce</h3>
<ul>
<li>Currently trading with a volume of 2,754,060, the CRM's price is up by 2.03%, now at $326.51. </li>
<li>RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching oversold.</li>
<li>Anticipated earnings release is in 40 days.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Expert Opinions on Salesforce</h3>
In the last month, 2 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $323.5.
Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?
20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/options-moneyline-2/?t=Moop1arja3be22op14&amp;utm_source=benzinga-insights">Click here for access</a>. 
&#x2A; Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Needham keeps a Buy rating on Salesforce with a target price of $400. 
&#x2A; In a cautious move, an analyst from Guggenheim downgraded its rating to Sell, setting a price target of $247. 
Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Salesforce options trades with real-time alerts from <a href="https://benzinga.grsm.io/register174">Benzinga Pro</a>.

Options

Markets

Unpacking the Latest Options Trading Trends in Salesforce

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with CRM, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what these investors just did? 
Today, <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/?utm_source=insights">Benzinga</a>'s options scanner spotted 31 uncommon options trades for Salesforce.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 45% bullish and 41%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 15 are puts, for a total amount of $1,668,369, and 16 are calls, for a total amount of $1,012,885.
<h3>What's The Price Target?</h3>
Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $70.0 to $370.0 for Salesforce over the recent three months. 
<h3>Insights into Volume &amp; Open Interest</h3>
In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Salesforce stands at 1111.62, with a total volume reaching 5,905.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Salesforce, situated within the strike price corridor from $70.0 to $370.0, throughout the last 30 days.
<h3>Salesforce Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days</h3>
<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2025/1737043234_0.png" alt="Options Call Chart" />
<h3>Biggest Options Spotted:</h3>

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Symbol</th>
<th>PUT/CALL</th>
<th>Trade Type</th>
<th>Sentiment</th>
<th>Exp. Date</th>
<th>Ask</th>
<th>Bid</th>
<th>Price</th>
<th>Strike Price</th>
<th>Total Trade Price</th>
<th>Open Interest</th>
<th>Volume</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>03/21/25</td>
<td>$4.55</td>
<td>$4.35</td>
<td>$4.38</td>
<td>$280.00</td>
<td>$926.9K</td>
<td>2.2K</td>
<td>2.1K</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>03/21/25</td>
<td>$21.75</td>
<td>$21.7</td>
<td>$21.7</td>
<td>$320.00</td>
<td>$358.0K</td>
<td>969</td>
<td>481</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>06/20/25</td>
<td>$14.7</td>
<td>$14.4</td>
<td>$14.7</td>
<td>$300.00</td>
<td>$220.5K</td>
<td>1.5K</td>
<td>170</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>01/24/25</td>
<td>$3.5</td>
<td>$3.4</td>
<td>$3.5</td>
<td>$327.50</td>
<td>$105.0K</td>
<td>540</td>
<td>449</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$15.9</td>
<td>$15.4</td>
<td>$15.4</td>
<td>$335.00</td>
<td>$69.3K</td>
<td>397</td>
<td>100</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<h3>About Salesforce</h3>
Salesforce provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.
Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Salesforce, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.
<h3>Current Position of Salesforce</h3>
<ul>
<li>Trading volume stands at 769,758, with CRM's price up by 0.25%, positioned at $321.95.</li>
<li>RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching oversold.</li>
<li>Earnings announcement expected in 41 days.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Expert Opinions on Salesforce</h3>
Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $368.4.
Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?
20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/options-moneyline-2/?t=Moop1arja3be22op14&amp;utm_source=benzinga-insights">Click here for access</a>. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Needham persists with their Buy rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $400. 
&#x2A; In a cautious move, an analyst from Guggenheim downgraded its rating to Sell, setting a price target of $247. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Macquarie persists with their Neutral rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $370. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Needham has revised its rating downward to Buy, adjusting the price target to $375. 
&#x2A; An analyst from JMP Securities has revised its rating downward to Market Outperform, adjusting the price target to $450. 
Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Salesforce options trades with real-time alerts from <a href="https://benzinga.grsm.io/register174">Benzinga Pro</a>.

Behind the Scenes of Salesforce's Latest Options Trends

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) shares are trading higher on Tuesday. The company disclosed that SharkNinja, Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SN#NYSE">SN</a>) is adopting its Agentforce and Commerce Cloud solutions to enhance personalized customer service through autonomous agents and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/25/01/b42971491/sharkninja-powers-up-global-customer-service-with-agentforce" rel="noreferrer noopener">support its global expansion efforts</a>.
Agentforce is expected to aid SharkNinja in deploying AI agents that autonomously handle tasks across various business functions.
Notably, Agentforce will provide SharkNinja with a 24/7 digital workforce to assist customers with purchases, product inquiries, troubleshooting, and returns, reducing human agent workloads and enabling them to focus on more impactful interactions.
Agentforce is anticipated to streamline tasks such as guiding purchases, resolving product queries, and managing returns, allowing human agents to focus on high-value engagements and enhancing the overall customer experience.
SharkNinja will leverage Commerce Cloud to unify customer data, enabling personalized shopping experiences and better tracking of global customer engagement.
Adam Evans, EVP &amp; GM of Salesforce AI Platform, said, &#8220;By integrating customer data with service and support functions, Agentforce enables SharkNinja to deliver an exceptional experience at every touchpoint — building customer loyalty and keeping them coming back time and time again.&#8221;
Investors can gain exposure to the CRM stock via&nbsp;iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IGV#BATS">IGV</a>) and First Trust DJ Internet Index Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/FDN#NYSE">FDN</a>).
Price Action: CRM shares are up 1.3% at $323.21 at the last check Tuesday.
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/01/42917603/salesforce-empowers-retailers-with-ai-to-boost-efficiency-and-sales" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Salesforce Launches Retail Cloud And Agentforce Solutions: Details</a></li>
</ul>
Image sourced from Shutterstock.

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SharkNinja Taps Salesforce Solutions For Personalized Customer Journeys: Details

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Shares of technology companies are trading lower amid the White House's decision to restrict AI chip exports.

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) shares are trading lower on Friday. The company introduced two new AI-driven solutions for retailers: Agentforce <a target="_blank" href="https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/25/01/b42910317/salesforce-unveils-agentforce-for-retail-to-boost-productivity-with-digital-labor-and-retail-cloud" rel="noreferrer noopener">for Retail and Retail Cloud with Modern POS</a>.
These solutions aim to enhance productivity for store associates, customer service teams, digital merchants and deliver more personalized shopping experiences.
Agentforce for Retail offers a pre-built library of agent skills, enabling retailers to deploy AI agents that automate tasks like order management and appointment scheduling, improving shopper engagement at scale.
On the other hand, Retail Cloud with Modern POS integrates online and in-store data into a unified platform, providing mobile POS, clienteling, endless aisle, mixed cart checkout, omnichannel fulfillment, and inventory management, helping associates serve customers more efficiently.
The company stated that Retail Cloud with Modern POS is expected to be generally available by April 2025.
Additionally, Salesforce will introduce enhanced reasoning and retrieval-augmented generation capabilities in February 2025.
Also, Commerce Skills for Guided Shopping, which includes features such as product search, product recommendations, add to cart, re-order, and WISMO (Where Is My Order), will be available in March 2025, alongside Commerce Skills for Order Management.
Notably, SharkNinja and Saks are using Salesforce solutions to enhance employee efficiency and improve customer interactions.
Nitin Mangtani, SVP and GM of Retail at Salesforce, said that the combination of AI-powered digital tools and a modern POS system can significantly expand retailers&#8217; operational capabilities. With the newly introduced Agentforce skills and an intuitive cloud-based POS solution, Salesforce aims to enable retailers to provide seamless, connected shopping experiences across both physical and digital channels, driving efficiency gains and fueling enterprise-wide growth.
Investors can gain exposure to the stock via&nbsp;iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IGV#BATS">IGV</a>) and First Trust DJ Internet Index Fund&nbsp;&nbsp;(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/FDN#NYSE">FDN</a>).
Price Action: CRM shares are down 2.41% at $319.03 at the last check Friday.
Read Next:
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<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/12/42735573/two-magnificent-7-giants-snubbed-in-dan-ives-top-10-tech-winners-for-the-ai-revolution-into-2025-but-palantir-salesforce-and-snowflake-made-the-cut" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Palantir, Salesforce, And Snowflake Made The Cut, But 2 &#8216;Magnificent 7&#8242; Giants Left Out From Dan Ives&#8217; Top 10 Tech Winners For The AI Revolution In 2025 List</a></li>
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Image via Shutterstock.

Large Cap

Movers

Tech

Salesforce Launches Retail Cloud And Agentforce Solutions: Details

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-stock-ratings">analyst ratings page</a>.
<ul>
<li>Needham raised the price target for Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) from $375 to $400. Needham analyst Scott Berg maintained a Buy rating. Salesforce shares closed at $324.93 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/CRM/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock</a>.</li>
<li>Truist Securities slashed Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MRK#NYSE">MRK</a>) price target from $130 to $110. Truist Securities analyst Robyn Karnauskas downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold. Wendy&#8217;s shares closed at $101.02 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/MRK/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock.</a></li>
<li>Canaccord Genuity raised the price target for Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/LUNR#NASDAQ">LUNR</a>) from $17.5 to $26. Canaccord Genuity analyst Austin Moeller maintained a Buy rating. Intuitive Machines shares closed at $19.87 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/LUNR/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock.</a></li>
<li>Piper Sandler increased the price target for Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ADSK#NASDAQ">ADSK</a>) from $311 to $357. Piper Sandler analyst Clarke Jeffries upgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight. Autodesk shares closed at $290.82 on Tuesday. See how other analysts view this stock.</li>
<li>B of A Securities boosted Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE FERG) price target from $185 to $225. B of A Securities analyst Arnaud Lehmann upgraded the stock from Underperform to Buy. Ferguson shares settled at $172.21 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/FERG/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock</a>.</li>
<li>Jefferies raised GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GEHC#NASDAQ">GEHC</a>) price target from $95 to $103. Jefferies analyst Matthew Taylor upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy. GE HealthCare shares closed at $83.37 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/GEHC/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock.</a></li>
<li>Deutsche Bank raised Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/WDAY#NASDAQ">WDAY</a>) price target from $265 to $300. Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy. Workday shares closed at $249.68 on Tuesday.  <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/WDAY/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock</a>.</li>
<li>Morgan Stanley boosted the price target for NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NTES#NASDAQ">NTES</a>) from $90 to $108. Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Poon upgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Overweight. NetEase shares settled at $89.72 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/NTES/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock</a>.</li>
<li>Truist Securities raised Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BMY#NYSE">BMY</a>) price target from $62 to $65. Truist Securities analyst Robyn Karnauskas maintained a Buy rating. Bristol-Myers Squibb shares closed at $57.14 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/BMY/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock</a>.</li>
<li>JP Morgan cut MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MELI#NASDAQ">MELI</a>) price target from $2,150 to $1,950. JP Morgan analyst Marcelo Santos maintained a Neutral rating. MercadoLibre shares closed at $1,771.22 on Tuesday. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/MELI/analyst-ratings">See how other analysts view this stock</a>.</li>
</ul>
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Pre-Market Outlook

ADSK

GEHC

LUNR

MELI

NTES

WDAY

Salesforce To Rally More Than 23%? Here Are 10 Top Analyst Forecasts For Wednesday

Needham analyst Scott Berg maintains Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) with a Buy and raises the price target from $375 to $400.

Needham Maintains Buy on Salesforce, Raises Price Target to $400

Guggenheim analyst John Difucci downgrades Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) from Neutral to Sell and maintains the price target from $247 to $247.

Downgrades

Guggenheim Downgrades Salesforce to Sell, Maintains Price Target to $247

Financial giants have made a conspicuous bullish move on Salesforce. Our analysis of options history for Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) revealed 28 unusual trades.
Delving into the details, we found 57% of traders were bullish, while 28% showed bearish tendencies. Out of all the trades we spotted, 14 were puts, with a value of $1,346,310, and 14 were calls, valued at $725,654.
<h3>Expected Price Movements</h3>
Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $200.0 to $370.0 for Salesforce over the recent three months. 
<h3>Volume &amp; Open Interest Trends</h3>
In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Salesforce stands at 1295.29, with a total volume reaching 4,137.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Salesforce, situated within the strike price corridor from $200.0 to $370.0, throughout the last 30 days.
<h3>Salesforce 30-Day Option Volume &amp; Interest Snapshot</h3>
<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2025/1735924527_0.png" alt="Options Call Chart" />
<h3>Largest Options Trades Observed:</h3>

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Symbol</th>
<th>PUT/CALL</th>
<th>Trade Type</th>
<th>Sentiment</th>
<th>Exp. Date</th>
<th>Ask</th>
<th>Bid</th>
<th>Price</th>
<th>Strike Price</th>
<th>Total Trade Price</th>
<th>Open Interest</th>
<th align="right">Volume</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>03/21/25</td>
<td>$19.1</td>
<td>$19.05</td>
<td>$19.1</td>
<td>$330.00</td>
<td>$317.0K</td>
<td>663</td>
<td align="right">252</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>06/20/25</td>
<td>$21.95</td>
<td>$21.9</td>
<td>$21.9</td>
<td>$320.00</td>
<td>$221.2K</td>
<td>713</td>
<td align="right">104</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>03/21/25</td>
<td>$19.4</td>
<td>$18.85</td>
<td>$18.85</td>
<td>$330.00</td>
<td>$205.4K</td>
<td>663</td>
<td align="right">415</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>03/21/25</td>
<td>$19.1</td>
<td>$19.05</td>
<td>$19.1</td>
<td>$330.00</td>
<td>$137.5K</td>
<td>663</td>
<td align="right">85</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>NEUTRAL</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$131.3</td>
<td>$130.2</td>
<td>$130.7</td>
<td>$200.00</td>
<td>$130.7K</td>
<td>1.2K</td>
<td align="right">15</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<h3>About Salesforce</h3>
Salesforce provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.
In light of the recent options history for Salesforce, it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.
<h3>Where Is Salesforce Standing Right Now?</h3>
<ul>
<li>With a trading volume of 1,263,444, the price of CRM is up by 0.41%, reaching $332.02.</li>
<li>Current RSI values indicate that the stock is is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.</li>
<li>Next earnings report is scheduled for 54 days from now.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Expert Opinions on Salesforce</h3>
Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $404.0.
Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?
20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/options-moneyline-2/?t=Moop1arja3be22op14&amp;utm_source=benzinga-insights">Click here for access</a>. 
&#x2A; An analyst from JMP Securities downgraded its action to Market Outperform with a price target of $450. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Macquarie has revised its rating downward to Neutral, adjusting the price target to $370. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Macquarie has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Salesforce, which currently sits at a price target of $370. 
&#x2A; In a cautious move, an analyst from Wedbush downgraded its rating to Outperform, setting a price target of $425. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Piper Sandler persists with their Overweight rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $405. 
Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Salesforce options trades with real-time alerts from <a href="https://benzinga.grsm.io/register174">Benzinga Pro</a>.

Market Whales and Their Recent Bets on CRM Options

Whales with a lot of money to spend have taken a noticeably bearish stance on Salesforce.
Looking at options history for Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) we detected 51 trades.
If we consider the specifics of each trade, it is accurate to state that 25% of the investors opened trades with bullish expectations and 52% with bearish.
From the overall spotted trades, 12 are puts, for a total amount of $718,304 and 39, calls, for a total amount of $2,085,751.
<h3>Expected Price Movements</h3>
Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $175.0 to $500.0 for Salesforce during the past quarter. 
<h3>Analyzing Volume &amp; Open Interest</h3>
Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in Salesforce's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to Salesforce's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $175.0 to $500.0 over the preceding 30 days.
<h3>Salesforce Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview</h3>
<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2025/1735844424_0.png" alt="Options Call Chart" />
<h3>Biggest Options Spotted:</h3>

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Symbol</th>
<th>PUT/CALL</th>
<th>Trade Type</th>
<th>Sentiment</th>
<th>Exp. Date</th>
<th>Ask</th>
<th>Bid</th>
<th>Price</th>
<th>Strike Price</th>
<th>Total Trade Price</th>
<th align="right">Open Interest</th>
<th>Volume</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>NEUTRAL</td>
<td>06/18/26</td>
<td>$85.95</td>
<td>$85.85</td>
<td>$85.95</td>
<td>$400.00</td>
<td>$180.4K</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td>27</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$6.85</td>
<td>$6.55</td>
<td>$6.55</td>
<td>$332.50</td>
<td>$149.9K</td>
<td align="right">37</td>
<td>28</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>01/10/25</td>
<td>$2.01</td>
<td>$1.87</td>
<td>$2.15</td>
<td>$342.50</td>
<td>$105.7K</td>
<td align="right">127</td>
<td>1.1K</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>06/20/25</td>
<td>$161.9</td>
<td>$161.25</td>
<td>$161.25</td>
<td>$175.00</td>
<td>$96.7K</td>
<td align="right">112</td>
<td>11</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>NEUTRAL</td>
<td>05/16/25</td>
<td>$7.1</td>
<td>$6.9</td>
<td>$7.0</td>
<td>$400.00</td>
<td>$91.0K</td>
<td align="right">850</td>
<td>136</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<h3>About Salesforce</h3>
Salesforce provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.
In light of the recent options history for Salesforce, it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.
<h3>Where Is Salesforce Standing Right Now?</h3>
<ul>
<li>With a trading volume of 2,523,597, the price of CRM is down by -1.41%, reaching $329.61.</li>
<li>Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be oversold.</li>
<li>Next earnings report is scheduled for 55 days from now.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Expert Opinions on Salesforce</h3>
A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $425.0.
Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?
20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/options-moneyline-2/?t=Moop1arja3be22op14&amp;utm_source=benzinga-insights">Click here for access</a>. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Morgan Stanley persists with their Overweight rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $405. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Scotiabank persists with their Sector Outperform rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $440. 
&#x2A; Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Stifel keeps a Buy rating on Salesforce with a target price of $425. 
&#x2A; In a cautious move, an analyst from JMP Securities downgraded its rating to Market Outperform, setting a price target of $450. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Piper Sandler persists with their Overweight rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $405. 
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Salesforce, <a href="https://benzinga.grsm.io/register174">Benzinga Pro</a> gives you real-time options trades alerts.

What the Options Market Tells Us About Salesforce

In the current session, the stock is trading at $337.80, after a 0.61% increase. Over the past month, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) stock increased by 1.30%, and in the past year, by 33.31%. With performance like this, long-term shareholders are optimistic but others are more likely to look into the price-to-earnings ratio to see if the stock might be overvalued.

<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2024/1735650907_0.png" alt="Past Year Chart" />

<h3>Comparing Salesforce P/E Against Its Peers</h3>
The P/E ratio measures the current share price to the company's EPS. It is used by long-term investors to analyze the company's current performance against it's past earnings, historical data and aggregate market data for the industry or the indices, such as S&amp;P 500. A higher P/E indicates that investors expect the company to perform better in the future, and the stock is probably overvalued, but not necessarily. It also could indicate that investors are willing to pay a higher share price currently, because they expect the company to perform better in the upcoming quarters. This leads investors to also remain optimistic about rising dividends in the future. 
Salesforce has a lower P/E than the aggregate P/E of 92.73 of the Software industry. Ideally, one might believe that the stock might perform worse than its peers, but it's also probable that the stock is undervalued. 

<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2024/1735650907_1.png" alt="Guage" />

In summary, while the price-to-earnings ratio is a valuable tool for investors to evaluate a company's market performance, it should be used with caution. A low P/E ratio can be an indication of undervaluation, but it can also suggest weak growth prospects or financial instability. Moreover, the P/E ratio is just one of many metrics that investors should consider when making investment decisions, and it should be evaluated alongside other financial ratios, industry trends, and qualitative factors. By taking a comprehensive approach to analyzing a company's financial health, investors can make well-informed decisions that are more likely to lead to successful outcomes.

Intraday Update

P/E Ratio Insights for Salesforce

On Monday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives unveiled his top 10 tech winners for the AI revolution into 2025, leaving two major Magnificent 7 players notably absent from the list.
What Happened:&nbsp; In his post, Ives said that the companies are poised to ride the wave of a $2 trillion AI capital expenditure boom over the next three years.
His list of top 10 tech winners for the AI revolution: Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NVDA#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MSFT#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/PLTR#NASDAQ">PLTR</a>), Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/TSLA#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>), Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GOOG#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>) (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GOOGL#NASDAQ">GOOGL</a>) Google, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AAPL#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>), MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MDB#NASDAQ">MDB</a>), Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/PEGA#NASDAQ">PEGA</a>), Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SNOW#NYSE">SNOW</a>), and Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>).&nbsp;
&#8216;Magnificent 7&#8217; heavyweights Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AMZN#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/META#NASDAQ">META</a>) were conspicuously absent from the list.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/tech/24/12/42715441/openais-for-profit-transition-trumps-ai-advisor-and-googles-code-red-this-week-in-ai?itm_source=parsely-api">OpenAI&#8217;s For-Profit Transition, Trump&#8217;s AI Advisor, And Google&#8217;s Code Red: This Week In AI</a>
"We expect tech stocks to be up 25% in 2025," Ives stated, adding that it will be bolstered by "a goldilocks foundation for Big Tech and Tesla" and reduced regulatory hurdles under a Donald Trump-led administration.
Ives also cautioned about potential "white-knuckle moments" in 2025, citing concerns around Fed actions, China trade dynamics, and stretched valuations.
However, he said, &#8220;This will create the opportunities to own the tech theme and key names which has been our core investing tech playbook the last 2 years.&#8221;
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"> 
<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">We expect tech stocks to be up 25% in 2025 as the Street further digests a less regulatory spider web under Trump in the White House with Khan/FTC days in the rear-view mirror, stronger AI initiatives within the Beltway, and a goldilocks foundation for Big Tech into 2025 &#x1f525;&#x1f3c6;&#x1f402; <a href="https://t.co/buam9doR6K">pic.twitter.com/buam9doR6K</a>
&mdash; Dan Ives (@DivesTech) <a href="https://twitter.com/DivesTech/status/1873877365572723044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
</figure>
Why It Matters: Apple currently leads the market with an impressive valuation of $3.812 trillion, and its stock has surged by 35.85% year-to-date.
Cupertino introduced Apple Intelligence this year, a robust collection of AI tools and features designed to greatly improve the user experience on its devices.
Following closely is Nvidia, with a market cap of $3.367 trillion and an impressive 185.43% year-to-date increase. Nvidia is anticipated to launch its next-generation RTX 5000 series GPUs at <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/24/12/42677149/nvidia-ces-2025-keynote-how-to-watch-jensen-huang-unveil-the-rtx-5000-series-gpus">CES 2025 scheduled for the second week</a> of January.
Microsoft secures the third spot with a valuation of $3.158 trillion. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, holds a market cap of $2.350.
Amazon rounds out the top five with a valuation of $2.326 trillion, while Meta and Tesla are at number seven and eight with a market cap of $1.492 trillion and $1.339 trillion, respectively.
Image via Shutterstock
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/12/42717000/palantir-was-not-part-of-cool-kids-club-says-dan-ives-as-stock-surges-376-institutional-investors-were-stuck">Palantir Was Not Part Of &#8216;Cool Kids Club,&#8217; Says Dan Ives, As Stock Surges 376%: &#8216;Group Think&#8217; Mentality Of Institutional Investors Gave Retail The Edge</a></li>
</ul>
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro">Benzinga Neuro</a> and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

GOOG

GOOGL

PEGA

SNOW

TSLA

Palantir, Salesforce, And Snowflake Made The Cut, But 2 'Magnificent 7' Giants Left Out From Dan Ives' Top 10 Tech Winners For The AI Revolution In 2025 List

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with CRM, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what these investors just did? 
Today, <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/?utm_source=insights">Benzinga</a>'s options scanner spotted 16 uncommon options trades for Salesforce.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 18% bullish and 75%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 14 are puts, for a total amount of $800,252, and 2 are calls, for a total amount of $78,016.
<h3>Predicted Price Range</h3>
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $270.0 to $450.0 for Salesforce over the last 3 months. 
<h3>Volume &amp; Open Interest Development</h3>
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Salesforce options trades today is 916.89 with a total volume of 1,968.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Salesforce's big money trades within a strike price range of $270.0 to $450.0 over the last 30 days.
<h3>Salesforce 30-Day Option Volume &amp; Interest Snapshot</h3>
<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2024/1735312537_0.png" alt="Options Call Chart" />
<h3>Largest Options Trades Observed:</h3>

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Symbol</th>
<th>PUT/CALL</th>
<th>Trade Type</th>
<th>Sentiment</th>
<th>Exp. Date</th>
<th>Ask</th>
<th>Bid</th>
<th>Price</th>
<th>Strike Price</th>
<th>Total Trade Price</th>
<th>Open Interest</th>
<th align="right">Volume</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$23.65</td>
<td>$23.4</td>
<td>$23.65</td>
<td>$360.00</td>
<td>$115.8K</td>
<td>2.0K</td>
<td align="right">304</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$21.3</td>
<td>$20.45</td>
<td>$21.3</td>
<td>$360.00</td>
<td>$100.1K</td>
<td>2.0K</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>03/21/25</td>
<td>$17.15</td>
<td>$16.65</td>
<td>$17.15</td>
<td>$330.00</td>
<td>$90.8K</td>
<td>656</td>
<td align="right">101</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>01/10/25</td>
<td>$9.5</td>
<td>$8.95</td>
<td>$9.05</td>
<td>$342.50</td>
<td>$81.4K</td>
<td>7</td>
<td align="right">96</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>01/10/25</td>
<td>$6.55</td>
<td>$6.4</td>
<td>$6.55</td>
<td>$337.50</td>
<td>$58.9K</td>
<td>14</td>
<td align="right">100</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<h3>About Salesforce</h3>
Salesforce provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.
After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Salesforce, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.
<h3>Salesforce's Current Market Status</h3>
<ul>
<li>With a volume of 425,816, the price of CRM is down -0.55% at $339.82. </li>
<li>RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.</li>
<li>Next earnings are expected to be released in 61 days.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Professional Analyst Ratings for Salesforce</h3>
5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $414.0.
Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move
Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/benzinga-edge-checkout/?t=Be8be9arja3be22bz20&amp;utm_source=benzinga-insights">Click here for access</a>. 
&#x2A; Reflecting concerns, an analyst from JMP Securities lowers its rating to Market Outperform with a new price target of $450. 
&#x2A; Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Barclays keeps a Overweight rating on Salesforce with a target price of $425. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Truist Securities downgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $400. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Citigroup persists with their Neutral rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $390. 
&#x2A; Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Piper Sandler continues to hold a Overweight rating for Salesforce, targeting a price of $405. 
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Salesforce, <a href="https://benzinga.grsm.io/register174">Benzinga Pro</a> gives you real-time options trades alerts.

Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/PLTR#NASDAQ">PLTR</a>) has delivered a <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/12/42696805/palantir-touted-as-next-oracle-by-dan-ives-here-is-why-the-wedbush-analyst-called-the-company-a-table-pounder">remarkable </a>395% return this year, outperforming the entire S&amp;P 500. Despite this strong performance, concerns are growing about the stock&#8217;s lofty valuation, with a few analysts expressing caution due to potential overbought conditions. 
What Happened: Palantir&#8217;s shares are trading at a price nearly 172 times over its 2025 earnings, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro</a> data. At the same time, the average forward price-to-earnings of its peers stand at 59.440 times, implying that PLTR is nearly three times more expensive than its industry's average. 
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Stocks</td>
<td>Forward P/E</td>
<td>YTD Performance</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Palantir Technologies Inc </td>
<td>172.414 </td>
<td>395.42%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Salesforce Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) </td>
<td>30.581 </td>
<td>33.42%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SAP SE (ETR: SAP) </td>
<td>38.462 </td>
<td>74.60%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ADBE#NASDAQ">ADBE</a>) </td>
<td>22.075 </td>
<td>-22.40%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/INTU#NASDAQ">INTU</a>) </td>
<td>33.670 </td>
<td>7.03%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Average P/E </td>
<td>59.440</td>
<td>(As of Dec. 26 Close)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro</a></figcaption></figure>
The technical analysis of daily moving averages indicates a strong uptrend.
The stock ended at $82.41 apiece on Thursday. This was above its eight and 50-day simple moving average of $78.50 and $74.57, respectively. According to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro</a> data, its current stock price was also higher than the 50-day moving average of $61.73, and its 200-day moving average of $36.13.
On the other hand, the relative strength index of 71.99 suggests the stock is overbought and could potentially be nearing a price correction.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071739/Palantir-Chart-Tech-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-709115" srcset="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071739/Palantir-Chart-Tech-1024x576.png 1024w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071739/Palantir-Chart-Tech-300x169.png 300w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071739/Palantir-Chart-Tech-768x432.png 768w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071739/Palantir-Chart-Tech-1536x864.png 1536w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071739/Palantir-Chart-Tech.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/general/market-summary/24/12/42680125/nvda-could-go-up-to-170-in-q1-after-breaching-145-level-as-traders-turn-bullish-on-jensen-huangs-ai-giant">NVDA Could Go Up To $170 In Q1 After Breaching $145 Level As Traders Turn Bullish On Jensen Huang&#8217;s AI Giant </a>
Why It Matters: According to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com">Benzinga</a>, PLTR has a consensus &#8216;sell&#8217; with a price target of $35.58 based on the ratings of 20 analysts.
The highest price target out of all the <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/PLTR/analyst-ratings">analysts</a> tracked by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com">Benzinga </a>is $80 issued by UBS with a &#8216;neutral&#8217; rating on Dec. 19. UBS is bullish on Palantir&#8217;s AI-driven growth potential but remains sidelined due to its extremely high valuation. UBS believes the current valuation is unjustified with 49 times revenue and 124 times free cash flow on 2025 estimates. Despite this, Palantir&#8217;s impressive growth and increasing institutional interest make it a stock to watch for potential future investment opportunities, says UBS.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a strong Palantir bull with a $75 price target issued on Nov. 25 with an &#8216;outperform&#8217; rating. He believes AI spending will surge in 2025. He lauds Palantir as &#8220;the Messi of AI,&#8221; emphasizing its leading role in the AI revolution. Ives highlights the expanding use cases for Palantir&#8217;s products, a growing partner ecosystem, and rising demand for its enterprise AI solutions.
Mizuho raised its price target to $44 while maintaining an &#8216;underperform&#8217; rating. This increase reflects broader software sector multiple expansions. Mizuho identifies key trends driving software growth: digital transformation, AI, data analytics, cloud migrations, DevOps, and cybersecurity. While the risk/reward is more balanced, Mizuho sees continued attractiveness in the software sector.
The lowest target price of $7.5 per share, maintaining an &#8216;underperform&#8217; from Wolfe Research was adjusted on Aug. 8, 2023. The average price target of $64.67 between UBS, Mizuho, and Baird implies a 20.96% downside for PLTR.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/PLTR/analyst-ratings"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="946" height="363" src="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071904/PLTR-ANR.png" alt="" class="wp-image-709122" srcset="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071904/PLTR-ANR.png 946w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071904/PLTR-ANR-300x115.png 300w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27071904/PLTR-ANR-768x295.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px" /></a></figure>
Price Action: Shares were down 0.41% in the premarket to $81.81 apiece, whereas the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/QQQ#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>) declined by 0.2% at $528.55.
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/24/12/42678014/top-7-blue-chip-stocks-with-the-best-return-potential-going-into-2025">S&amp;P 500 Hits 57 All-Time Highs In Record-Breaking 2024: Magnificent 7 Drive 30% Of Nasdaq&#8217;s Surge</a></li>
</ul>
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ADBE

Palantir Nearly 3X More Expensive Than Industry Average: PLTR Stock Zooms Over 395% Amid Overbought Conditions

The year 2024 saw the U.S. stock market make new records, with major indices breaching key milestones. While many stocks witnessed a stellar rally this year, analysts still expect some blue-chip equities to rise further as they forecast a better return potential.
Dow&#8217;s Performance In 2024
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index hit a record eight 1,000-point milestones this year. It started the year around the 37,000 level and breached the 45,000 level at the beginning of December. It took only seven trading days for the index to go from 44,000 to 45,000, the second fastest 1,000-point milestone ever.
Following that the index also saw one of its longest 10-day losing streak, the first ever since 1974. These 10 days of underperformance stems from a confluence of factors. 
The Dow doesn&#8217;t include all &#8220;Magnificent 7&#8221; stocks like Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/TSLA#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GOOG#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>) (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GOOGL#NASDAQ">GOOGL</a>). The recent inclusion of Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NVDA#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>) in the Dow has also pulled the index down because of the stock&#8217;s underperformance.
Dow&#8217;s constituent UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/UNH#NYSE">UNH</a>) has experienced a substantial decline this month following the tragedy with its CEO&#8217;s shooting. Moreover, in essence, the Dow&#8217;s historical advantage of its price-weighted indexing has become a significant disadvantage in today&#8217;s market. This is because, unlike market capitalization-weighted indices, higher-priced stocks have more weight in the calculation of a price-weighted index.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Dow Jones Stocks With The Best And Worst Return Potential</h4>
Analysts still expect that a group of stocks led by Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CAT#NYSE">CAT</a>), UnitedHealth and Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SHW#NYSE">SHW</a>) within the Dow will rise even more, according to estimates compiled by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com">Benzinga</a>. Others on the list are the Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AMZN#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>), Johnson &amp; Johnson (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/JNJ#NYSE">JNJ</a>), Chevron Corp (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CVX#NYSE">CVX</a>) and Merck &amp; Co Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MRK#NYSE">MRK</a>).
To be sure, analysts keep updating their forecasts based on company performance and may change their estimates as the new earnings season begins.
Selection Criteria:
<ul>
<li>The thirty blue-chip stocks in Down Jones.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The highest and lowest return potential is based on the average 12-month target prices from <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro data</a>.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Companies</td>
<td>M-Cap</td>
<td>Highest PT ($/Share)</td>
<td>Lowest PT ($/Share)</td>
<td>Consensus PT ($/Share)</td>
<td>Upside/Downside Potential</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CAT#NYSE">CAT</a>)</td>
<td>176.73B</td>
<td>515</td>
<td>174</td>
<td>331.35</td>
<td>31.68%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/UNH#NYSE">UNH</a>)</td>
<td>460.26B</td>
<td>675</td>
<td>460</td>
<td>608.16</td>
<td>28.95%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SHW#NYSE">SHW</a>)</td>
<td>86.71B</td>
<td>450</td>
<td>249</td>
<td>371.19</td>
<td>24.08%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AMZN#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>)</td>
<td>2,365.04B</td>
<td>290</td>
<td>197</td>
<td>247.05</td>
<td>23.82%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Johnson &amp; Johnson (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/JNJ#NYSE">JNJ</a>)</td>
<td>347.83B</td>
<td>215</td>
<td>40</td>
<td>168</td>
<td>22.41%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Chevron Corp (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CVX#NYSE">CVX</a>)</td>
<td>256.71B</td>
<td>212</td>
<td>160</td>
<td>179.36</td>
<td>21.42%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Merck &amp; Co Inc (NYSE: MRK</td>
<td>248.03B</td>
<td>155</td>
<td>104</td>
<td>126.24</td>
<td>20.76%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/crm#NYSE">CRM</a>)</td>
<td>328.87B</td>
<td>450</td>
<td>236</td>
<td>378.52</td>
<td>20.60%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MSFT#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>)</td>
<td>3,246.07B</td>
<td>600</td>
<td>465</td>
<td>508</td>
<td>18.21%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Visa Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/V#NYSE">V</a>)</td>
<td>622.63B</td>
<td>375</td>
<td>252</td>
<td>318.42</td>
<td>17.69%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: Benzinga.com (Data as of Dec. 22, 2024)</figcaption></figure>
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/12/42430296/carson-researchs-50-year-study-suggests-that-the-26-months-old-bull-market-is-far-from-over">Is The 26-Month Bull Market Over? Here Is What Carson Research&#8217;s 50-Year Old Study Tells Us</a>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Caterpillar Inc</h3>
<ul>
<li>Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CAT#NYSE">CAT</a>) has the highest return potential of 31.68% among the Dow Jones constituents.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 28 analysts tracking the company have a consensus price target of $331.35 per share, according to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/CAT/analyst-ratings">Benzinga</a>. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Truist Securities&#8217; Jamie Cook raised the price target from $454 to $471 per share on Dec. 19, 2024 as he expects significant investments in infrastructure, likely driven by government initiatives and private sector projects to fuel demand for Caterpillar&#8217;s equipment.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Citigroup analyst Kyle Menges maintained a &#8216;buy&#8217; rating on the company and raised the price target from $435 to $460 apiece on Dec. 9, 2024.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>On Dec. 9, JPMorgan analyst Tami Zakaria also reaffirmed her bullish stance on Caterpillar, maintaining a &#8216;buy&#8217; rating on the stock. Concurrently, she raised the firm&#8217;s price target for Caterpillar from $500 to $515 per share.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">UnitedHealth Group</h3>
<ul>
<li>UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/UNH#NYSE">UNH</a>) has the second highest return potential of 28.95% among the Dow Jones constituents.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 26 analysts tracking the company have a consensus price target of $331.35 per share, according to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/UNH/analyst-ratings">Benzinga</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Oppenheimer raised its price target to $640 from $610 apiece on Dec.6, 2024. The primary reason for the price target increase is that the Oppenheimer analyst is updating their financial model. This update appears to be based solely on the publicly available information disclosed by UnitedHealth in their 8-K filing.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Stephens &amp; Co raised its target price to $675 from $605 per share on Dec. 5, 2024, after conducting a detailed review of the 2025 guidance metrics that UnitedHealth had shared before the fatal shooting of CEO Brian Thompson that led to the cancellation of their investor conference.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Deutsche Bank also increased its target from $595 to $625 apiece as it believes investor positioning into the event is mostly neutral to positive, with almost no one expecting a negative revision versus the third quarter outlook.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Sherwin-Williams Company</h3>
<ul>
<li>Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SHW#NYSE">SHW</a>) has a return potential of 24.08% going into 2025.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A consensus price target of $371.19 per share was maintained by 25 analysts that track the company, as per <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/SHW/analyst-ratings">Benzinga</a>. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Greg Melich from Evercore ISI raised the price target of the Ohio-based paints, coatings and related products manufacturer to $420 from $400 per share on Nov. 7, 2024.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>RBC Capital&#8217;s Arun Viswanathan lowered his target on the company from $455 to $446 per share on Oct. 24, 2024. While acknowledging that third-quarter results might not have met investor expectations, Viswanathan emphasized the company&#8217;s potential for market share gains and the positive impact of its upcoming price increase scheduled for January 2025.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Citigroup adjusted its price target from $430 to $420 apiece on Oct. 24 as it anticipates choppy demand in the first half of 2025, which could hinder the rapid pass-through of interest rate cuts.</li>
</ul>
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/11/42383725/trump-administrations-deregulation-efforts-to-lift-energy-oil-and-gas-sectors-ai-frenzy-to-aid-faang-stocks-and-nvidia-says-fintech-insider">Trump&#8217;s Deregulation Efforts To Benefit Energy, Oil And Gas Sectors, While AI Frenzy Will Boost FAANG Stocks And Nvidia, Says Fintech Insider</a>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Amazon.com Inc</h3>
<ul>
<li>Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AMZN#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) has a return potential of 23.82% going into 2025.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>A consensus price target of $247.05 per share was maintained by 39 analysts that track the company, as per <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/AMZN/analyst-ratings">Benzinga</a>. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Tigress Financial&#8217;s Ivan Feinseth umped is price target from $245 to $290 apiece on Dec.20, 2024 as it believes Amazon is well-positioned for continued success, driven by robust retail trends, effective utilization of generative AI and its fulfillment network, and the strategic integration of AI across its entire business.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The expectations of strong long-term growth driven by operational efficiency and sustained momentum across its business segments led Bernstein to raise its target price from $235 to $265 per share on Dec. 18, 2024.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to JPMorgan analyst Douglas Anmuth, Amazon is a best idea for 2025, and confidence in AWS growth in the months to come is a major reason for that. He raised its target price from $250 to $280 apiece on Dec. 18, 2024.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Johnson &amp; Johnson</h3>
<ul>
<li>Johnson &amp; Johnson (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/JNJ#NYSE">JNJ</a>) has the fifth highest return potential in Dow of 22.41% going into 2025.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 21 analysts tracking the company have a consensus price target of $168 apiece, according to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/JNJ/analyst-ratings">Benzinga</a>. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Citigroup&#8217;s Joanne Wuensch lowered Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s price target from $185 to $175 per share while maintaining a &#8216;buy&#8217; rating on Dec. 11, 2024.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>BofA Securities reinstated coverage of Johnson &amp; Johnson with a &#8216;neutral&#8217; rating and a $166 price target on Dec. 10, 2024. BofA notes that J&amp;J&#8217;s current valuation premium to peers may limit upside potential. However, the analyst acknowledges a &#8220;fairly interesting&#8221; pipeline and anticipates that resolving the talc litigation in 2025 would be beneficial. This analysis was part of BofA&#8217;s broader coverage initiation of 11 large-cap U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Wolfe Research analyst Alexandria Hammond commenced coverage of Johnson &amp; Johnson with an &#8216;outperform&#8217; recommendation and established a price target of $190 per share on Nov. 15, 2024</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Chevron Corporation</h3>
<ul>
<li>Chevron Corporation (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CVX#NYSE">CVX</a>) has a return potential of 21.42% going into 2025.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 24 analysts tracking the company have a consensus price target of $179.36 apiece, according to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/CVX/analyst-ratings">Benzinga</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Piper Sandler analyst Ryan Todd reduced his price target on the company from $184 to $173 per share on Dec. 19, 2024, while maintaining a &#8216;buy&#8217; rating. Piper Sandler suggests the valuation gap between Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/XOM#NYSE">XOM</a>) and Chevron implies a probability of over 65% of the Hess Corporation (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/HES#NYSE">HES</a>) deal failing out. This scenario presents a potential 15%-25% upside, while a successful deal offers a 5%-10% downside ahead of the upcoming arbitration.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Despite this deal uncertainty, Piper expects Chevron to deliver strong portfolio performance in 2025, driven by project starts and controlled capital expenditures. This is projected to result in a significant free cash flow increase of $6-$7 billion.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Wells Fargo analyst Roger Read raised his target price from $171 to $188 apiece on Dec. 9, 2024</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Truist Securities raised its price target on Chevron to $160 from $155 while maintaining a &#8216;hold&#8217; rating, on Dec. 6, 2024. The analyst highlights Chevron&#8217;s significant inventory, including ample royalties, and expects improved capital efficiency to drive a cash flow inflection in the coming year.</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Merck &amp; Co Inc</h3>
<ul>
<li>Merck &amp; Co Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MRK#NYSE">MRK</a>) has the seventh highest return potential in Dow of 20.76% going into 2025.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 27 analysts tracking the company have a consensus price target of $126.24 apiece, according to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/MRK/analyst-ratings">Benzinga</a>.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck to &#8216;market perform&#8217; from &#8216;outperform&#8217; lowering the price target from $136 to $105 apiece, on Dec. 20, 2024. The downgrade reflects concerns about the company&#8217;s Gardasil franchise in China and the potential revenue gap as Keytruda faces increased competition from biosimilars and generic drugs.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Tim Anderson from BofA Securities maintains his bullish stance on Merck with a &#8216;buy&#8217; rating, while adjusting the price target downward to $121 from $127 per share, on Dec. 10, 2024.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Truist analyst Robyn Karnauskas reaffirms a &#8216;buy&#8217; rating for Merck on Nov. 7, 2024, but lowers the price target to $130 from $132 apiece.</li>
</ul>
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/12/42642834/market-breadth-turns-positive-after-a-rare-14-day-negative-streak-history-suggests-gains-ahead">Market Breadth Rebounds As Risk Appetite Makes A Comeback: This Analyst Predicts Gains Ahead After S&amp;P 500&#8217;s Record Negative Streak</a></li>
</ul>
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Top 7 Blue-Chip Stocks With The Best Return Potential Going Into 2025

Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>) has outperformed the market over the past 5 years by 3.06% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 16.22%. Currently, Salesforce has a market capitalization of $329.34 billion. 
Buying $1000 In CRM: If an investor had bought $1000 of CRM stock 5 years ago, it would be worth $2,088.13 today based on a price of $344.50 for CRM at the time of writing.
<h3>Salesforce's Performance Over Last 5 Years</h3>
<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2024/1735051521_0.png" alt="comp_fig" />
Finally -- what's the point of all this? The key insight to take from this article is to note how much of a difference compounded returns can make in your cash growth over a period of time.
This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

Here's How Much $1000 Invested In Salesforce 5 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Salesforce (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CRM#NYSE">CRM</a>).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with CRM, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what these investors just did? 
Today, <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/?utm_source=insights">Benzinga</a>'s options scanner spotted 13 uncommon options trades for Salesforce.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 46% bullish and 23%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $1,917,240, and 8 are calls, for a total amount of $930,560.
<h3>Expected Price Movements</h3>
After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $250.0 and $400.0 for Salesforce, spanning the last three months.
<h3>Volume &amp; Open Interest Trends</h3>
Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Salesforce's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Salesforce's significant trades, within a strike price range of $250.0 to $400.0, over the past month.
<h3>Salesforce Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days</h3>
<img src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/images/story/2024/1734706834_0_0.png" alt="Options Call Chart" />
<h3>Biggest Options Spotted:</h3>

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Symbol</th>
<th>PUT/CALL</th>
<th>Trade Type</th>
<th>Sentiment</th>
<th>Exp. Date</th>
<th>Ask</th>
<th>Bid</th>
<th>Price</th>
<th>Strike Price</th>
<th>Total Trade Price</th>
<th>Open Interest</th>
<th>Volume</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>NEUTRAL</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$19.15</td>
<td>$18.15</td>
<td>$18.6</td>
<td>$350.00</td>
<td>$712.3K</td>
<td>2.3K</td>
<td>1.5K</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BEARISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$18.6</td>
<td>$17.55</td>
<td>$18.55</td>
<td>$350.00</td>
<td>$556.5K</td>
<td>2.3K</td>
<td>907</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>PUT</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$19.35</td>
<td>$18.25</td>
<td>$18.5</td>
<td>$350.00</td>
<td>$555.0K</td>
<td>2.3K</td>
<td>455</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>SWEEP</td>
<td>NEUTRAL</td>
<td>01/16/26</td>
<td>$110.6</td>
<td>$108.6</td>
<td>$110.5</td>
<td>$250.00</td>
<td>$508.1K</td>
<td>590</td>
<td>46</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td>
<td>CALL</td>
<td>TRADE</td>
<td>BULLISH</td>
<td>01/17/25</td>
<td>$88.5</td>
<td>$88.0</td>
<td>$88.5</td>
<td>$250.00</td>
<td>$106.2K</td>
<td>2.8K</td>
<td>12</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<h3>About Salesforce</h3>
Salesforce provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.
In light of the recent options history for Salesforce, it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.
<h3>Current Position of Salesforce</h3>
<ul>
<li>With a volume of 1,491,455, the price of CRM is down -0.05% at $336.07. </li>
<li>RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.</li>
<li>Next earnings are expected to be released in 68 days.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Professional Analyst Ratings for Salesforce</h3>
5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $422.0.
Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move
Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premium/ideas/benzinga-edge-checkout/?t=Be8be9arja3be22bz20&amp;utm_source=benzinga-insights">Click here for access</a>. 
&#x2A; Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Piper Sandler keeps a Overweight rating on Salesforce with a target price of $405. 
&#x2A; In a cautious move, an analyst from JMP Securities downgraded its rating to Market Outperform, setting a price target of $450. 
&#x2A; An analyst from RBC Capital persists with their Outperform rating on Salesforce, maintaining a target price of $420. 
&#x2A; An analyst from Piper Sandler has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Salesforce, which currently sits at a price target of $405. 
&#x2A; Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Baird continues to hold a Outperform rating for Salesforce, targeting a price of $430. 
Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Salesforce options trades with real-time alerts from <a href="https://benzinga.grsm.io/register174">Benzinga Pro</a>.

Smart Money Is Betting Big In CRM Options

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Shares of stocks in the broader software sector are trading lower amid overall market weakness following the Fed's rate decision to cut rates by 25 basis points.

The technology sector is primed for extraordinary growth, driven by the increasing demand for tech-based solutions. Amid this backdrop, it could be wise to buy tech stocks, such as Salesforce (CRM), Adobe (ADBE), and QUALCOMM (QCOM), with analyst-approved upsides. Continue reading… The technology sector is experiencing unparalleled growth, with innovations unfolding rapidly. This dynamic environment offers investors a wide range of opportunities. To successfully navigate it, it's essential to pinpoint tech stocks that demonstrate potential and align with analyst forecasts.
Thus, investors could consider adding fundamentally sound tech stocks, such as Salesforce, Inc. (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/CRM/">CRM</a>), Adobe Inc. (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/ADBE/">ADBE</a>), and QUALCOMM Incorporated (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/QCOM/">QCOM</a>).
The application development software market is amid robust expansion, propelled by the growing appetite for software solutions across diverse sectors. As organizations continue to advance their <a href="https://www.precedenceresearch.com/application-development-software-market">digital transformation</a> endeavors, the imperative demand for efficient and scalable application development software becomes increasingly apparent.
Fueled by the increasing development of infrastructure, global IT spending is projected to experience a significant rise in 2025. According to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc., worldwide IT spending is expected to total <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-10-23-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-it-spending-to-grow-nine-point-three-percent-in-2025">$5.74 trillion in 2025</a>, indicating an increase of 9.3% from 2024. 
Considering these factors, let's take a look at the fundamentals of the three tech stock picks.
Salesforce, Inc. (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/CRM/">CRM</a>)
CRM 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. 
On December 17, CRM announced Agentforce 2.0: the newest version of Agentforce, the first digital labor platform for enterprises. It is a complete AI system for augmenting teams with trusted, autonomous AI agents in the flow of work. The new advances will allow entities to scale their workforce with customized agents capable of handling complex with even more precision and accuracy.
On November 20, CRM introduced agentic lifecycle management tools to automate Agentforce testing, prototype agents in secure Sandbox environments, and transparently manage usage at scale. The new Agentforce Testing Center will help companies roll out trusted AI agents with no-code tools for testing, deploying, and monitoring in a secure, repeatable way.
During the third quarter, which ended October 31, 2024, CRM's total revenues grew 8.3% from the year-ago value to $9.44 billion. The company's non-GAAP income from operations of $3.12 billion reflects a 14.9% increase from the previous year period. Also, its non-GAAP <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/netincome.asp">net income</a> came in at $2.32 billion or $2.41 per share, up 12.2% and 14.2% year-over-year, respectively.
As per the company's guidance, CRM expects revenue in the range of $9.90 billion and $10.10 billion, up 7% - 9% year-over-year in the fourth quarter.
Also, for the fiscal year 2025, the company raised its low-end revenue guidance to $37.8 billion to $38 billion, up 8% - 9% from the prior year. It has also raised its operating cash flow growth to a range of 24% to 26%.
Analysts expect CRM's revenue and EPS for the fourth quarter (ending January 2025) to increase 8.1% and 14.2% year-over-year to $10.04 billion and $2.61, respectively. Moreover, the company topped the consensus revenue and EPS estimates in three of the trailing four quarters.
CRM's stock has gained 26.7% over the past six months and 28.8% over the past year to close the last trading session at $330.53.
Based on 41 Wall Street analysts offering 12-month price targets for CRM in the last three months, <a href="https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/crm/forecast">the average target price is $395.69</a>, indicating a 19.7% change from the last price, with a high forecast of $450 and a low forecast of $247.
CRM's <a href="https://stocknews.com/powr-ratings/">POWR Ratings</a> reflect its robust outlook. The stock has an overall rating of B, which translates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings are calculated by considering 118 different factors, with each factor weighted to an optimal degree.
CRM has a B grade for Quality and Momentum. It is ranked #22 out of 127 stocks in the B-rated <a href="https://stocknews.com/category/software-application/">Software - Application</a> industry.
Beyond what is stated above, we've also rated CRM for Stability, Growth, Sentiment, and Value. Get all CRM ratings <a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/CRM/">here</a>.
Adobe Inc. (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/ADBE/">ADBE</a>)
ADBE operates as an international diversified software company. The company operates through three segments: Digital Media; Digital Experience; and Publishing and Advertising. The company offers products, services, and solutions that allow individuals, teams, and enterprises to create, publish, and promote content.
On December 10, ADBE and Box, Inc. (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/BOX/">BOX</a>), the leading Intelligent Content Management platform, announced a partnership to redefine how digital media is managed, created, and shared in the enterprise. With Adobe Express as the default image editor in Box, customers can easily create more engaging content without leaving Box's secure platform.
Adobe Express brings the best of Adobe's industry-leading creative tools into an app everyone can use. Powered by Firefly AI and built with easy features, the solution is designed to be commercially safe so enterprises can use it confidently.
On December 3, ADBE and Amazon's Amazon Web Services (AWS) expanded their strategic partnership to make Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) available on AWS, which empowers brands to deepen customer relationships through precise personalization. AEP delivers an actionable view of customers across every channel, with AI-driven insights ensuring timely and relevant customer experiences.
In the fourth quarter that ended on November 29, 2024, ADBE's total revenue rose 11.1% from the prior year's quarter to $5.61 billion, and its gross profit increased 13% year-over-year to $4.99 billion. The company's non-GAAP operating income of $2.60 billion indicates growth of 10.8% over the previous year.
Furthermore, the company's non-GAAP net income grew 8.8% and 12.6% from the year-ago value to $2.13 billion and $4.81 per share, respectively.
For the fiscal year 2025, ADBE projects total revenue between $23.30 billion and $23.55 billion. Its Digital Media segment revenue is expected to be between $17.25 billion and $17.40 billion, and its Digital Experience segment revenue is expected to be between $5.80 billion and $5.90 billion. Also, the company's non-GAAP EPS is set to be between $20.20 and $20.50.
Further, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, the company expects total revenue of $5.63 billion - $5.68 billion, and its non-GAAP EPS is expected to range from $4.95 to $5.00.
Street expects ADBE's revenue and EPS for the first quarter (ending February 2025) to increase 9.3% and 11% year-over-year to $5.66 billion and $4.97, respectively. Moreover, the company has surpassed the consensus EPS and revenue estimates in all four trailing quarters, which is impressive.
ADBE's stock has increased marginally intraday to close the last trading session at $431.18.
Based on 26 Wall Street analysts offering 12-month price targets for ADBE in the last three months, <a href="https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/ADBE/forecast">the average target price is $602.15</a>, indicating a 39.7% change from the last price, with a high forecast of $703 and a low forecast of $450.
ADBE's robust fundamentals are reflected in its POWR Ratings. It has an overall rating of A, which equates to a Strong Buy in our proprietary rating system.
The stock has an A grade for Quality and a B for Growth and Momentum. ADBE is ranked #11 out of 127 stocks in the Software - Application industry.
<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/ADBE/">Click here</a> to access the additional ADBE ratings (Sentiment, Value, and Stability).
QUALCOMM Incorporated (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/QCOM/">QCOM</a>)
QCOM engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI).
QCOM's revenues for the fourth quarter (ended September 29, 2024) increased 18.7% year-over-year to $10.24 billion. The company reported a non-GAAP operating income of $3.51 billion, indicating a 31.4% growth from the prior year's quarter. QCOM's non-GAAP net income came in at $3.04 billion, up 33.3% year-over-year, while its net income per share grew 33.2% from the prior-year quarter to $2.69.
Street expects QCOM's revenue for the fiscal first quarter (ended December 2024) to increase 10.4% year-over-year to $10.96 billion. Moreover, its EPS estimate of $2.95 for the same period indicates a 7.4% year-over-year growth. In addition, it surpassed the consensus revenue and EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, which is excellent.
The stock gained 14% over the past month, closing the last trading session at $159.85.
Based on 22 Wall Street analysts offering 12-month price targets for QCOM in the last three months, <a href="https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/qcom/forecast">the average target price is $199.88</a>, indicating a 25% change from the last price, with a high forecast of $250 and a low forecast of $160.
QCOM's POWR Ratings reflect bright prospects. The stock has an overall rating of B, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system.
The stock has an A grade for Quality and a B for Value. QCOM is ranked first out of 90 stocks in the <a href="https://stocknews.com/category/semiconductor-wireless-chip/">Semiconductor &amp; Wireless Chip</a> industry.
In addition to the POWR Ratings highlighted above, one can access QCOM's ratings (Growth, Momentum, Stability, and Sentiment) <a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/QCOM/">here</a>. 
What To Do Next?
Get your hands on this special report with 3 low priced companies with tremendous upside potential even in today's volatile markets:
<a href="https://report.stocknews.com/free-report/3stocks/?formplacement=artbotad_3s">3 Stocks to DOUBLE This Year &gt;</a>

<hr />
CRM shares were trading at $325.86 per share on Tuesday afternoon, down $4.67 (-1.41%). Year-to-date, CRM has declined -2.53%, versus a 0.76% rise in the benchmark S&amp;P 500 index during the same period.
<hr><div style="clear:both;"></div> <h2>About the Author: Nidhi Agarwal</h2> <img src='https:/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Nidhi-Agarwal_Headshot-3.jpg' style="float:left; padding:5px;width:125px;">Nidhi is passionate about the capital market and wealth management, which led her to pursue a career as an investment analyst. She holds a bachelor's degree in finance and marketing and is pursuing the CFA program.

Her fundamental approach to analyzing stocks helps investors identify the best investment opportunities.<a href="https://stocknews.com/authors/?author=nidhi-agarwal">More...</a>The post <a href=https://stocknews.com/news/crm-adbe-qcom-box-3-tech-stocks-with-analyst-approved-upside/>3 Tech Stocks With Analyst-Approved Upside</a> appeared first on <a href=https://stocknews.com/>StockNews.com</a>

3 Tech Stocks With Analyst-Approved Upside

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The growing need for advanced software to accelerate business automation worldwide drives the software industry's growth, further supported by continuous technological developments. Thus, it could be the right time to invest in solid software stocks such as Salesforce (CRM), Open Text (OTEX), and Progress Software (PRGS), which are revolutionizing business automation for substantial gains. Keep reading... Business automation has become a necessity for companies in today's complex and rapidly changing environment. Companies require efficient solutions to improve their workflow and enhance their capabilities, and the latest software is able to provide the same. This has led to a rapid demand for advanced software, and the demand will grow further in the future.
Amid this backdrop, it could be wise to add quality software stocks: Salesforce, Inc. (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/CRM/">CRM</a>), Open Text Corporation (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/OTEX/">OTEX</a>), and Progress Software Corporation (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/PRGS/">PRGS</a>), which are revolutionizing business automation.
Businesses are increasingly investing in the latest software applications to accelerate business automation in order to improve their workflow operations, enhance capabilities, and maintain a competitive position in the industry. The surging demand has resulted in rapid advancements and innovations in software and technologies, offering lucrative opportunities for software companies.
From cost savings to real-time, data-driven decisions and improved customer services, <a href="https://www.blueprism.com/resources/blog/the-future-of-business-process-automation-trends/">business automation</a> offers a variety of benefits to companies. Further, integration with artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and other tools improves efficiency and enables digital transformation to keep up with the fast-paced world.
These trends have directly impacted the growth trajectory of the global application development software market. In recent times, the adoption of digitalization across businesses and the rising demand for software applications to simplify and accelerate operations have propelled the market growth.
The global application development software market is projected to reach around $862.67 billion by 2028, exhibiting growth at a <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/application-development-software-market-report">CAGR of 22.8%</a>. Demand for cloud computing, cloud storage solutions, increasing investments, and the evolution of technologies are driving market demand.
With these encouraging trends in mind, let's delve into the fundamentals of the three <a href="https://stocknews.com/category/software-application/">Software - Application</a> stock picks, beginning with the third choice.
Stock #3: Salesforce, Inc. (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/CRM/">CRM</a>)
CRM provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together globally. Its 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.
On December 17, CRM introduced Agentforce 2.0, the newest version of Agentforce, the first digital labor platform for enterprises. The platform is a complete AI system for augmenting teams with trusted, autonomous AI agents in the flow of work. The new advances allow entities to scale their workforce with customized agents capable of handling complex with even more precision and accuracy.
On November 20, CRM announced agentic lifecycle management tools to automate Agentforce testing, prototype agents in secure Sandbox environments, and transparently manage usage at scale. It allows teams to test Agentforce with synthetically generated data, ensuring accurate responses and actions, with complete monitoring of usage and feedback.
CRM reported total <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/revenue.asp">revenues</a> of $9.44 billion during the third quarter, which ended October 31, 2024, up 8.3% from the prior year's quarter. Its gross profit grew 11.8% from the year-ago value to $7.34 billion. Also, CRM's non-GAAP income from operations of $3.12 billion reflects a 14.9% increase from the previous year period.
In addition, the company's non-GAAP net income amounted to $2.32 billion and $2.41 per share, indicating growth of 12.2% and 14.2% year-over-year, respectively.
According to the company's guidance for the fourth quarter, CRM expects revenue in the range of $9.90 billion and $10.10 billion, up 7% - 9% year-over-year.
Also, for the fiscal year 2025, the company raised its low-end revenue guidance between $37.8 billion and $38 billion, up 8% - 9% from the prior year. It has also raised its operating cash flow growth to a range of 24% to 26%.
Analysts expect CRM's revenue and EPS for the fourth quarter (ending January 2025) to increase 8.1% and 14.2% year-over-year to $10.04 billion and $2.61, respectively. Moreover, the company surpassed the consensus revenue and EPS estimates in three of the trailing four quarters.
CRM's stock has surged 27% over the past six months and 25.3% over the past year to close the last trading session at $326.90.
CRM's robust outlook is reflected in its <a href="https://stocknews.com/powr-ratings/">POWR Ratings</a>. The stock has an overall rating of B, which translates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings are calculated by considering 118 different factors, each weighted to an optimal degree.
The stock has a B grade for Quality. It is ranked #20 out of 125 stocks in the B-rated <a href="https://stocknews.com/category/software-application/">Software - Application</a> industry.
<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/CRM/">Click here</a> to access additional CRM ratings for Value, Sentiment, Stability, Momentum, and Growth.
Stock #2: Open Text Corporation (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/OTEX/">OTEX</a>)
Headquartered in Waterloo, Canada, OTEX is engaged in the provision of information management products and services. The company offers content services, including content collaboration and intelligent capture, as well as records management, collaboration, e-signatures, and archiving.
On December 5, OTEX announced a strategic partnership with Secure Code Warrior to integrate its dynamic learning platform into the OpenText Fortify application security product suite. The strategic partnership will allow developers to improve their secure coding skills through real-time training to reduce risks, quickly identify and resolve vulnerabilities, and ultimately build greater trust with customers.
On November 19, OTEX unveiled Cloud Editions 24.4. The next-generation cloud, security, and AI-integrated innovations aim to deliver secure, AI-integrated solutions to strengthen data connectivity, streamline workflows, and enhance human potential. The system addresses the needs of forward-thinking CIOs and business leaders navigating multi-cloud environments.
Also, on the same date, the company announced a new Partner Enterprise Learning Subscription. The subscription gives partners the ability to build the needed skills at scale. It helps customers verify that their partner has relevant product-related skills, giving them confidence in their choice of partner.
During the first quarter that ended September 30, 2024, OTEX reported total revenues of $1.27 billion, of which its Cloud services and subscriptions grew 1.3% year-over-year to $457.02 million. Its gross profit was $910.36 million, and adjusted EBITDA was $443.80 million for the quarter.
Also, net income and EPS attributable to OpenText stood at $84.37 million and $0.32, up 4.3% and 6.7% from the prior year's quarter, respectively.
For the fiscal year (ending June 2026), OTEX's revenue is expected to increase 2.4% year-over-year to $5.44 billion, while its EPS is expected to improve 13.6% year-over-year to $4.15. Moreover, it has surpassed the consensus EPS estimate in three of the trailing four quarters.
Shares of OTEX have slumped 9.8% over the past month to close the last trading session at $27.87.
OTEX's POWR Ratings reflect its promising prospects. The stock has an overall rating of B, which translates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system.
The stock has an A grade for Value and B for Growth. OTEX is ranked #16 of 125 stocks within the B-rated Software Application industry.
To see additional POWR Ratings of OTEX for Momentum, Quality, Sentiment, and Stability, <a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/OTEX/">Click here</a>.
Stock #1: Progress Software Corporation (<a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/PRGS/">PRGS</a>)
PRGS develops, deploys, and manages business applications internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, Chef, Developer Tools, Kemp LoadMaster, and Sitefinity. It also provides MOVEit, DataDirect, WhatsUp Gold, Flowmon, Corticon, MarkLogic, and Semaphore.
On December 19, PRGS announced its partnership with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the world's largest member association representing the CPA profession. PRGS' Progress&#xAE; ShareFile&#xAE;, the SaaS-native, AI-powered, document-centric collaboration platform, has become the only document workflow and secure file-sharing solution in the AICPA Member Discount Program.
On November 21, PRGS released new powerful capabilities and enhancements in Progress&#xAE; Sitefinity&#xAE;. With the release, Sitefinity introduced native support for Next.js, a React framework, allowing organizations to leverage one of the fastest-growing frontend frameworks for developers to create modern, state-of-the-art digital experiences.
Also, on October 31, PRGS completed the acquisition of ShareFile, a Cloud Software Group, Inc. business unit, offering a SaaS-native, AI-powered, document-centric collaboration platform, emphasizing industry segments including business and professional services, financial services, industrial, and healthcare.
For the third quarter that ended August 31, 2024, PRGS' revenue increased 2.1% year-over-year to $178.69 million. Its non-GAAP income from operations grew 8.4% from the year-ago value to $74.12 million. The company's non-GAAP net income and EPS came in at $55.22 million and $1.26, up 13.3% and 16.7% from the prior year's quarter, respectively.
As per the updated business outlook for 2024, PRGS expects non-GAAP of $745 million - $755 million. The company expects non-GAAP EPS between $4.75 and $4.85.
Street expects PRGS' revenue and EPS for the fourth quarter (ended November 2024) to increase 19.1% and 19.3% year-over-year to $211.34 million and $1.22, respectively. Also, the company surpassed the consensus revenue and EPS estimates for all of the trailing four quarters, which is impressive.
PRGS' shares have gained 16.5% over the past six months and 18.9% over the past year to close the last trading session at $63.33.
PRGS' sound fundamentals are reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall rating of A, which translates to a Strong Buy in our proprietary rating system.
The stock has an A grade for Quality. It also has a B grade for Growth and Value. Within the same industry, PRGS is ranked #3 of 125 stocks.
In addition to the POWR Ratings we've stated above, we also have PRGS ratings for Momentum, Stability, and Sentiment. Get all PRGS ratings <a href="https://stocknews.com/stock/PRGS/">here</a>.
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<hr><div style="clear:both;"></div> <h2>About the Author: Rjkumari Saxena</h2> <img src='https:/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rajkumari-Saxena_Image-1.jpeg' style="float:left; padding:5px;width:125px;">Rajkumari started her career as a writer but gradually shifted her focus to financial journalism, leveraging her educational background in Commerce. Fascinated by the interplay of business and economic shifts in equities, she aspires to evolve as an analyst. With a knack for simplifying complex financial concepts, her mission is to empower investors with insights that lead to profitable decisions.<a href="https://stocknews.com/authors/?author=rajkumari-saxena">More...</a>The post <a href=https://stocknews.com/news/crm-otex-prgs-3-software-stocks-revolutionizing-business-automation/>3 Software Stocks Revolutionizing Business Automation</a> appeared first on <a href=https://stocknews.com/>StockNews.com</a>

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