Salesforce took off this morning and hit a new high but there’s more to it than just that. If you owned more than one listed stock in the sector, there’s a good chance at least one of them also hit a 52-week high. Wall Street money managers can’t get enough of the stuff and right now.
These price charts for the software names that this morning made the new highs list have the look of feverish, speculative mania. Typically, when a company has earnings that come in below expectations, the stock drops. Not today. If you remember to simply mention “AI” in the earnings report, it seems to overcome all else.
These 6 Software Stocks Hit New Highs.
Salesforce.
Note that the 50-day moving average crossed above the 200-day moving average at the end of October, showing the potential for gains to come.
The market cap is $344 billion. The software application company operates from corporate headquarters in San Francisco. Earnings this year are up by 22% (just reported and below expectations) and up over the past five years by 24%. The p/e is 59, well above the current S&P 500 p/e of 38. Salesforce pays a .24% dividend.
Guidewire Software.
The price gap ups in June, September and early November show how well-liked this stock is among tech investors.
With a market cap of $17 billion, this software application maker has earnings this year up by 14%. The consensus of analysts forward price-earnings ratio is 83. In February, Raymond James initiated coverage of Guidewire Software with an “outperform” rating and a price target of $125.
Hubspot.
The new high appears shortly after the 50/200-day moving average crossover in mid-November.
This software application company has a market capitalization of $39 billion. Earnings this year are up by 35% and down over the past five years by 16%. In early November, Piper Sandler reduced its rating of the stock from “overweight” to “neutral” with a $640 price target.
ServiceNow.
The price is trending steadily upward from the late May low to this morning’s gap up to the new high.
Market cap for the software application outfit is $230 billion. This year’s earnings are up by 28%. The price-earnings ratio is 173 and it trades at 24 times its book value. Morgan Stanley on October 21st took its rating of ServiceNow from “overweight” to “equal weight” with a price target of $960.
SAP SE.
The price has been testing the 50-day moving average since June and this morning finds the higher ground on a gap up.
The Germany-based software application maker with corporate headquarters in Walldorf has a market capitalization of $292 billion. Earnings this year are off by 13% and they’re off over the last five years by 9.96%. The p/e is 103 and the forward p/e is 37. SAP SE pays a .91% dividend.
Twilio.
The price has more than doubled from the June low to this morning’s gap up to the new high.
Market cap is $16.84 billion for the software infrastructure company. Earnings over the past five years: -34%. Earnings this year: +49%. The forward price-earnings ratio, reflecting the consensus of analysts, is 25. Wells Fargo on November 12th upgraded the stock from “equal weight” to “overweight” with a $120 price target.
Stats courtesy of FinViz.com. Charts courtesy of Stockcharts.com.
More chart analysis and commentary at johnnavin.substack.com.