Contact: Ben Kolada
Salesforce.com continues to satisfy investors, even after paying up for its largest-ever acquisition. Shareholders barely blinked after the company forked over $689m for Buddy Media – the highest-valued acquisition in the social media marketing segment. As long as its shares continue to appreciate, salesforce.com has received a vote of confidence to continue to announce large deals.
The company reports its fiscal third-quarter earnings after the close of business today. Equity analysts on average are expecting the company to report about $738m in revenue for its fiscal Q3, above the company’s previously reported guidance, which was already above analysts’ estimates. CRM shares have already appreciated 46% since the beginning of the year, and analysts are predicting a median price target for each salesforce.com share of $170.
As long as it keeps growing the value of its shares, investors may not mind the company doing more – and larger – acquisitions. We’d also note that they apparently don’t mind salesforce.com covering those deals with its own stock – one-third of Buddy Media’s total purchase price was covered with its own equity. The Buddy Media buy is also only the third time that salesforce.com has covered a portion of a transaction with its own equity.
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