Salesforce Stock in Freefall After Earnings
Salesforce posted its first revenue miss since 2006, and the stock is suffering
Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) stock is plunging this morning, last seen 18.5% lower to trade at $221.80, after the cloud software vendor disclosed a disappointing first-quarter earnings report. Salesforce reported its first quarterly revenue miss since 2006, issued weaker-than-expected guidance, and saw budget scrutiny and longer deal cycles for the quarter.
Options traders are flooding CRM in response. So far, 54,000 calls and 59,000 puts have been exchanged, which is 35 times the average daily volume. New positions are being bought to open at 16 of the top 20 contracts, led by the weekly 5/31 220-strike put.
No less than 25 analysts cut their price targets on Salesforce stock, the steepest coming from UBS to $250 from $310. These look long overdue, too, considering the 12-month consensus price target of $306.84 is a 37.7% premium to the equity’s current perch.
Now at its lowest level since November 2023, CRM is pacing for its worst single-session percentage drop since 2020. The shares are also trading below their 320-day moving average for the first time since March 2023. Year to date, Salesforce stock is now down nearly 16%.
