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Salesforce.com (CRM) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why

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In the latest market close, Salesforce.com (CRM - Free Report) reached $199.27, with a +1.37% movement compared to the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.2%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.58%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.16%.

Shares of the customer-management software developer have depreciated by 3.06% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 3.32% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.58%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Salesforce.com in its upcoming release. On that day, Salesforce.com is projected to report earnings of $2.06 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 47.14%. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $8.71 billion, reflecting a 11.08% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $8.06 per share and a revenue of $34.75 billion, indicating changes of +53.82% and +10.84%, respectively, from the former year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Salesforce.com. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Salesforce.com currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Salesforce.com has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.4 right now. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 26.27 for its industry.

One should further note that CRM currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.08. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Computer - Software industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.09.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 86, finds itself in the top 35% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.


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