2. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108
salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) is an American software company, with a focus on customer relationship management (CRM) and also provides cloud-based solutions to its consumers. The company ranks second on our list of the best Jim Cramer stocks to buy today.
In September, RBC Capital lifted its price target on salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) to $325, while maintaining an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares. The firm’s analyst noted the company’s Q1 earnings beat, growth in nearly all segments, and its acquisition of Slack Technologies in a deal worth $27.7 billion. In fiscal Q1 2022, salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) posted an EPS of $1.21, beating the estimates by $0.33. The company’s revenue for the quarter stood at $5.9 billion, showcasing a 22.4% year-over-year growth. In 2021, salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) has delivered a 23.6% return to shareholders.
As of Q2 2021, the number of hedge funds having stakes in salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) grew to 108, from 91 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $11.7 billion.
RV Capital Management mentioned salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Part 5: A New Investment in Salesforce.com
The assertion that mega caps can also be mispriced is a good segue to our second new investment in Salesforce.com. Salesforce is one of the largest software companies in the world with a market value of around US$ 250 bn. It is best known for its customer relationship management or “CRM” solution, known as its Sales Cloud. It has three additional clouds (“Service,” “Marketing” and “Commerce”) as well as a thriving platform business with both owned and 3rd party software solutions.
I first came across Salesforce in 2013. I was invested in Bechtle, a German company that provides companies with their in-house IT. I kept hearing about a strange new concept called “the Cloud” and wanted to get up to speed on the topic in case it was a risk to Bechtle. As a result, I picked up a copy of “Behind the Cloud”. It documents how Salesforce.com pioneered cloud-based software and revolutionised the software industry.
Since then, I have followed Salesforce from a distance and visited it several times in San Francisco. I did not consider it seriously as an investment though as for much of the period, I had not yet overcome my aversion to loss-making companies.
This changed in December last year when Salesforce announced the acquisition of Slack (a former investment of the Business Owner Fund, described in my 2020 half-year letter) for US$ 27 bn. On the date of announcement, Salesforce’s market value fell by around US$ 20 bn. Effectively, the market was saying that Slack was almost worthless, which, as an enthusiastic owner of Slack, I disagreed with. Initially, I decided to keep our Slack stock and roll it into Salesforce (as part of the consideration was in Salesforce’s own stock). As Salesforce’s price fell further in the subsequent months, I bought its stock directly to make it a full-size position post the closing of the Slack acquisition…”
