Robert DeFrancescos

TechStockProspector.com
March 1, 2013

Salesforce (CRM) Shares Jump 7%, Hit New High

NOW AVAILABLE: The February 2013 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector for your Amazon Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app. Here are some of the topics covered in the February 2013 issue: *A subtle sentiment shift for Apple *Oracle to acquire Acme Packet *Two potential buyout targets in networking *Appreciating Googles online video gem *Cloud-software updates: NetSuite, Ultimate & Concur *Fortinet experiences a growth uptick *A cloud name to watch: E2open *Symantec sets a new course *Customer concentration trips up Fusion-IO *LinkedIn builds engagements as user base grows *Why some big investors like ServiceNow *New growth drivers for Citrix Systems *Riverbed Technology looks to OPNET for growth *Aruba Networks benefiting from BYOD trend *Cornerstone OnDemand expands its customer base *Deal Report: IBM on the M&A hunt?

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shares of Salesforce.com (CRM, $182) today closed up more than 7% on heavy volume and hit a new 52-week high at $183.24, as investors were encouraged by the fiscal Q4 (Jan.) results from this cloud-software leader. Revenue rose 32.1% to $835 million, coming in above the consensus estimate of $830.9 million, and EPS of 51 cents topped the consensus by 11 cents. Billings grew 28% and Salesforce closed a record number of large deals, with the number of 7figure and 8-figure transactions surging more than 50% year over year.

Deferred revenue on the balance sheet jumped 35% to $1.86 billion. Unbilled deferred revenue (business that has been contracted, but not yet invoiced) at the end of January stood at $3.5 billion, up from $3 billion at the end of fiscal Q3 and $2.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2012. For fiscal Q1, the company sees EPS of 40 cents to 42 cents (the consensus is 42 cents) on revenue of $882 million to $887 million, vs. the consensus of $885.9 million. BofA/Merrill raised its Salesforce price target to $228 from $200 following the strong fiscal Q4 results, saying it thinks the companys cloud opportunity over the next few years is larger than previously estimated. BMO Capital likes the strong deferred revenue growth of 35% and thinks the bump up in the number of big deals indicates that Salesforce is having success displacing legacy vendors Oracle and SAP in the enterprise market. *********************************************************************************** Read the latest issue of Tech-Stock Prospector on your Amazon Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.

Heres the Kindle link: http://www.amzn.com/B004T6Z0ME

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tech-Stock Prospector Managing Editor Rob DeFrancesco has more than 20 years of experience covering the tech sector. He is a former senior writer with Louis Rukeysers Wall Street. TechStockProspector.com, launched in 2003, is an investment-research service focused primarily on the networking, storage, security, wireless and software sectors. Annual subscription: $350. For more information or to place an order, call 800-392-0998.