Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) is set to report its third-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, December 3, and Wall Street's most accurate forecasters have been busy recalibrating their expectations.
Analysts are looking for quarterly earnings of $2.86 per share from the San Francisco-based software giant, up from $2.41 per share in the same quarter last year. The revenue consensus sits at $10.27 billion, compared to $9.44 billion a year earlier.
Salesforce has been on a solid run lately, beating analyst revenue estimates in its last two quarters and in eight of the past ten quarters overall. That's the kind of track record that tends to keep investors optimistic heading into earnings season.
Shares closed up 0.8% at $234.71 on Tuesday, though recent analyst activity suggests some mixed feelings about where the stock goes from here.
What the Top Analysts Are Saying
Here's how Wall Street's most accurate Salesforce analysts have positioned themselves recently:
Citizens analyst Patrick Walravens remains the most bullish of the bunch, maintaining a Market Outperform rating with a $430 price target on December 2. Walravens has a 60% accuracy rate on his calls.
Citigroup analyst Tyler Radke, who boasts a 67% accuracy rate, kept his Neutral rating but trimmed his price target from $276 to $253 on November 26. That's a notable haircut heading into the print.
Bank of America Securities analyst Brad Sills maintained his Buy rating but lowered his target from $325 to $305 on November 17. Sills has been right 65% of the time.
Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz, with the highest accuracy rate in this group at 68%, stayed Outperform but slashed his price target from $350 to $340, also on November 17.
DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria rounds out the group with a Neutral rating and a $225 price target set on October 16. Luria's accuracy rate stands at 65%.
The pattern is clear: even the bulls are getting a bit more cautious on valuation, though most still see upside from current levels. Wednesday's report will show whether that caution is warranted or if Salesforce can once again exceed expectations.
