Why Salesforce Shares Are Rising Today

Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM) is trading higher Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter financial results and issued guidance above estimates. 

Salesforce said quarterly revenue increased 26% year-over-year to $7.33 billion, which beat the $7.24 billion estimate. The company reported quarterly earnings of 84 cents per share, which beat the estimate of 75 cents per share. 

"As we continue to see tremendous demand from customers, we’re raising our FY23 revenue guidance to $32.1 billion at the high-end of range, with non-GAAP operating margin of 20%, and operating cash flow growth of 22% year-over-year," said Marc Benioff, chair and co-CEO of Salesforce.

Salesforce expects first-quarter revenue to be between $7.37 billion and $7.38 billion versus the $7.26 billion estimate. The company expects adjusted earnings of 93 to 94 cents per share versus the estimate of 99 cents per share. 

Analyst Assessment: 

• Piper Sandler analyst Clarke Jeffries maintained Salesforce with an Overweight rating and lowered the price target from $365 to $330.
• UBS analyst Karl Keirstead maintained Salesforce with a Neutral rating and raised the price target from $210 to $225.
• Raymond James analyst Brian Peterson maintained Salesforce with a Strong Buy rating and lowered the price target from $340 to $300.

Related Link: Read How Analysts Reacted To Salesforce's Q4 Results 

CRM Price Action: Salesforce has traded as low as $184.44 and as high as $311.75 over a 52-week period.

The stock was up 4.58% at $218.45 at time of publication.

Photo: courtesy of Salesforce.