Salesforce price target raised to $212 from $159 at Bernstein

Bernstein raised the firm’s price target on Salesforce to $212 from $159 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. In 2024, the performance of software stocks will be driven by sector, segment and company fundamentals, as compared to last year which had a strong macro driver, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees only modest acceleration in IT spend growth and possibly softer growth in software segment growth. The macro environment remains stable, and extraordinary measures from 2023 like price increases and margin improvement have limited benefit in 2024, contends Bernstein. For Salesforce, the firm is cautious that the large revenue base and company specific challenges could make it difficult for the company to meaningfully accelerate growth in 2024 and possibly thereafter.