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Salesforce.com (CRM) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Salesforce.com (CRM - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $278.29, demonstrating a +1.98% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.03%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.41%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.12%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the customer-management software developer had lost 9.19% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.55% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.9% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of Salesforce.com will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.38, marking a 40.83% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $9.14 billion, reflecting a 10.82% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $9.71 per share and revenue of $37.93 billion, indicating changes of +18.13% and +8.82%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Salesforce.com should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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 varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Salesforce.com currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, Salesforce.com currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 28.09. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 29.06, so one might conclude that Salesforce.com is trading at a discount comparatively.

One should further note that CRM currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.61. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Computer - Software industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.23.

The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 99, this industry ranks in the top 40% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. 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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