Two stocks in the portfolio are in the news on Monday. One is enterprise software and the other is banking. Earnings Preview: Bank of America lowered its price target for Salesforce from $325 to $305 per share ahead of next month’s quarterly results. Analysts maintained a buy rating on the stock, citing undervalued software peer multiples, according to a Monday note. It added that low expectations for the quarter and weak investor sentiment limit the downside for the stock at current levels. However, BofA expects Salesforce’s fiscal third quarter 2026 revenue to be in line with its current remaining performance obligations (RPO). Analysts also see stable performance in Salesforce’s core business and interest in Agentforce is increasing over time. Analysts at Deutsche Bank expect Salesforce to have an “even” quarter when it reports results on Dec. 3. “We just left our investor day believing that Salesforce had developed a story as compelling as we could hope for,” the analysts wrote in a note Monday. Salesforce held an Investor Day alongside last month’s Dreamforce conference. Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating and $340 price target on the stock. CRM YTD Mountain Salesforce YTD We take a different stance than analysts. At last week’s November monthly meeting for club members, Jim Cramer said he was “depressed about Salesforce.” Jim said Salesforce is facing a generative AI challenge, as new technologies could cannibalize the company’s core platform, which operates on a seat-based model. At Dreamforce, the company projected annual sales of $60 billion by 2030. But Jim says it’s a “lifetime” for Wall Street. This stock has become a show-and-prove story that has yet to materialize. The stock has fallen more than 29% since the beginning of the year. King of Deals: Goldman Sachs is on track to deliver its best annual M&A performance in nearly a quarter-century. Wall Street banks have captured a 34% share of the $3.8 trillion in global mergers and acquisitions announced so far by 2025, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing LSEG data. That’s up from the 28% share Goldman controlled last year. With Sidara Therapeutics’ announcement that Goldman will advise on its $9.2 billion acquisition of the biotech name by pharmaceutical giant Merck, the investment bank may finally surpass M&A levels last seen in 2001. LSEG’s data was compiled before the Sidara-Merck deal was announced. GS YTD Mountain Goldman Sachs YTD It’s no surprise that Goldman’s dealmaking division is in crisis this year. Not only has the investment banking industry as a whole recovered from its 2022 lows, but Goldman has recently closed on a number of high-profile deals. Goldman is set to book an M&A transaction fee worth $110 million, the largest in its history, as the sole advisor on the $55 billion take-private deal for video game maker Electronic Arts, according to a securities filing last week. This is all welcome news for the club. After all, we initiated our position in Goldman on the premise that Goldman’s important investment banking division would benefit from a recovery in Wall Street trading. Financial stocks’ stellar 2025 performance (up about 35% year-to-date) and better-than-expected quarterly earnings reports demonstrate just that. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is a Long CRM, GS. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim Cramer makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
