salesforce.com Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of salesforce.com (NYS: CRM) have popped today by as much as 11% after the company reported earnings last night and posted strong bookings growth.

So what: Revenue in the fourth quarter was $632 million, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.43. Bookings growth jumped 57% to almost $1.1 billion, handily topping the market's expectations, while operating cash flows of $240 million also came out strong.

Now what: The company also raised its full-year guidance and is now expecting revenue to be between $2.92 billion and $2.95 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.58 to $1.62. The strong results have triggered a slew of upgrades and reiterations of buy ratings and price target increases from Street analysts. Shares had pulled back significantly from highs set last year on growth concerns, so this latest release is putting some of those fears to rest.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorEvan Niuholds no position in any company mentioned.Click hereto see his holdings and a short bio.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Salesforce.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave also recommended shorting Salesforce. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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