We don’t have high hopes for this tech stock, but we’re thrilled with this bank
Two portfolio stocks are making news Monday — one in enterprise software and the other in banking. Earnings preview : Bank of America lowered its price target on Salesforce to $305 per share from $325 ahead of quarterly earnings next month. The analysts, who kept a buy rating on shares, cited cheaper multiples across software peers, according to a Monday note. They added that low expectations and low investor sentiment into the quarter means limited downside for the stock at current levels. However, BofA predicts that Salesforce’s fiscal 2026 third-quarter revenue and current remaining performance obligations (RPO) will be in line. The analysts also see a steady performance in Salesforce’s core business, along with more interest in Agentforce over time. Analysts at Deutsche Bank are expecting an “uneventful” quarter when Salesforce posts results on Dec. 3. “We came away from Investor Day thinking Salesforce laid out as compelling of a story as we could expect,” analysts wrote in a Monday note. Salesforce held its Investor Day alongside last month’s Dreamforce conference. Deutsche Bank maintained its buy rating on shares and $340 price target. CRM YTD mountain Salesforce YTD We’re taking a different stance than the analysts. During last week’s November Monthly Meeting for Club members, Jim Cramer said that he was “depressed about Salesforce.” Salesforce is challenged, according to Jim, by generative AI as the nascent tech might be cannibalizing the company’s core platform, which operates on a seat-based model. At Dreamforce, the company projected annual revenue of $60 billion by 2030. But that’s a “lifetime” for Wall Street, according to Jim. This stock has turned into a show-and-prove story that has yet to be realized. The stock has lost more than 29% year to date. Deal king: Goldman Sachs is on track for its best annual M & A performance in nearly a quarter of a century. The Wall Street bank has grabbed a 34% share of the deal value of the overall $3.8 trillion in global mergers and acquisitions announced so far in 2025, the Financial Times reported Monday, citing LSEG data. That’s up from the 28% share Goldman controlled last year. Now that Cidara Therapeutics has announced that Goldman will advise on drug giant Merck ‘s $9.2 billion takeover of the biotech name, the investment bank could finally surpass M & A levels last seen in 2001. The LSEG data was compiled before the Cidara-Merck deal was announced. GS YTD mountain Goldman Sachs YTD It shouldn’t come as a total surprise that Goldman’s dealmaking division is on a tear this year. Not only has the overall investment banking industry rebounded since 2022 lows, but Goldman has also recently inked many high-profile deals. As the sole advisor of the $55 billion take-private transaction of video game maker Electronic Arts , Goldman is set to book its largest M & A deal fee in its history to the tune of $110 million, according to securities filings last week. This is all welcome news for the Club. After all, we started a position in Goldman on the premise that its crucial investment banking division will benefit from the recovery in Wall Street dealmaking. The financial stock’s stellar 2025 performance – up nearly 35% year to date – and better-than-expected quarterly earnings reports have shown us exactly that. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long CRM, GS. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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