If You Invested $1,000 In Salesforce Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the past year generally have experienced some decent gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust's SPY total return in the past 12 months is 10.3%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

Salesforce's Bumpy Ride: One company that has been a disappointing investment in the past year is customer relationship management software leader salesforce.com, inc. CRM.

In the past seven years, Salesforce has been extremely aggressive in ramping up its acquisitions. In 2016 alone, the company completed 12 major acquisitions including a $6.5 billion deal for MuleSoft.

In December 2020, Salesforce went even bigger with a $27.7 billion buyout of Slack Technologies. Slack first went public back in June 2019 at an IPO valuation of around $15.7 billion.

Fortunately for Salesforce investors, the company's business was relatively insulated from COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. If anything, the shift to a remote and hybrid work environment facilitated the demand for customer-related software.

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At the beginning of 2020, Salesforce shares were trading at $163.92. By the beginning of March of that year, the stock was up to around $172 as news of the coronavirus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic.

Salesforce ultimately bottomed at $115.29 during the pandemic-driven March sell-off. Fortunately for Salesforce investors, the dip didn't last long. By July, Salesforce shares were making new all-time highs above $195, and the stock finished 2020 at around $222.

The stock's steady march higher continued throughout most of 2021, culminating with the stock peaking at $311.75 in November 2021.

Unfortunately, Salesforce's disappointing earnings report in late November spooked investors concerned about the company's slowing revenue growth and elevated valuation.

Salesforce In 2022, Beyond: Since the end of November, fears about slowing revenue growth coupled with a broad market rotation out of high-growth tech stocks have sent Salesforce shares back down to $197.19. But even after its significant pullback from November highs, Salesforce's 40.2 forward earnings multiple suggests the stock isn't particularly cheap at current levels.

Unfortunately, Salesforce investors who bought a year ago and held on have generated a terrible return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in Salesforce stock purchased on Feb. 24, 2021, would be worth about $809 today.

Looking ahead, analysts are still expecting new highs for Salesforce in the next 12 months. The average price target among 45 analysts covering the stock is $315, suggesting a 60% upside from current levels.

Photo: Mohammed Alim from Pixabay