Salesforce's Keynote Address At Dreamforce Helps Explain Management's Thought Process

Benioff's said salesforce's interest in LinkedIn Corp LNKD was simply based on the value of its deferred revenue balance ($786 million as of 2Q16) rather than the value of its data. In fact, Benioff said the market was undervaluing LinkedIn on this basis.

Further, the brokerage noted that Benioff said the core business could never be stronger, while pointing out customer concern that salesforce was focusing too much on innovation over adoption.

Related Link: Salesforce Could Have A Hard Time Getting Shareholders To Vote For A Twitter Buyout At Its Current Price

"We reiterate our positive partner checks coming out of Dreamforce this week and continue to be of the view that 2Q's results were a blip versus a new trend," analyst Heather Bellini wrote in a note.

Valuation, Price Movement

Bellini has a price target of $96 on the shares, which were up 4.5 percent at $71.50 at last check.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.