Salesforce Inc ( CRM ) shares are trading lower Monday following reports suggesting the company is in talks to buy Informatica.

What To Know: Salesforce ( CRM ) is in advanced talks to acquire cloud data management company Informatica, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

People familiar with the matter reportedly said the takeover price being discussed is currently below Informatica’s share price of just over $38, due to a recent surge in shares in anticipation of a potential deal. Informatica shares are up approximately 35% since the start of the year.

Private-equity firm Permira and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board took Informatica private for $5.3 billion in 2015 after it had been public for about 15 years. The company went public again in 2021. The report indicates a deal with Salesforce ( CRM ) could be announced soon.

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Is CRM A Good Stock To Buy

An investor or trader's decision to buy or sell a stock is unique to their time horizon and risk tolerance. Many typical investors evaluate earnings growth and valuation on a particular stock before making a decision.

For example, for Salesforce ( CRM ), you'll notice that earnings in its last quarter grew 1.33% (source). As an investor, you'll want to decide whether that's better or worse than what you'd like to see among stocks in your portfolio.

On the valuation side, Salesforce's ( CRM ) price to earnings ratio – a measure of how much an investor pays for the company's earnings – is compressed 94.44% in the current quarter when compared with last year. That places it below similar businesses Adobe, SAP, Intuit in its sector. You'll need to decide whether that makes it more or less attractive based on how you think the company will perform over time.

There are many different valuation metrics that may help you make a decision. Find more on Salesforce's ( CRM ) quote page, or if you'd like a deeper dive in an advanced program, try Benzinga PRO for free.

CRM Price Action: Salesforce ( CRM ) shares were down 2.86% at $285.90 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.