Salesforce.com Shares Fall Further As Investors Fear Slowing Growth (Investor's Business Daily)

Thursday August 21, 6:32 pm ET Investors hammered Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM - News ) on Thursday, bidding shares down 18% in the wake of a cautious third-quarter outlook, slower growth in billings and the expected earnings hit from its newest acquisition. After falling more than 8% in after-hours trading Wednesday, shares lost another 6 points or so Thursday to close at 53.25. Investors were put off by several negatives, including a disappointing level of deferred revenue, which reflects a slowdown in the growth of customer billings. "Salesforce has a great fundamental story," said Brent Thill, an analyst with Citigroup. "But the stock was priced for ongoing perfection, and we didn't get perfection." The lingering question: As Saleforce approaches $1 billion in revenue for the first time ever this fiscal year, is its overall... [read full story]