Commenting on a reported email from Colin Powell with a presentation containing notes on several potential Salesforce (CRM) acquisition targets that was leaked and published by DCLeaks, Stephens analyst Samad Samana said all the names in the list were "the usual suspects" and would make strategic sense.

ACQUISITION TARGETS: A presentation included in leaked emails from Colin Powell, who sits on the Salesforce board of directors, indicate the company was looking at 14 potential acquisition targets in May, according to The Wall Street Journal. The presentation, titled "M&A Target Review," included Demandware (DWRE), which Salesforce agreed to acquire in June. It also names targets such as Adobe (ADBE), Pegasystems (PEGA), ServiceNow (NOW), Tableau Software (DATA), Marketo (MKTO), NetSuite (N), Qlik (QLIK), Box (BOX), Zendesk (ZEN), Workday (WDAY) and LinkedIn (LNKD), which has agreed to be acquired by Microsoft (MSFT). A spokesperson for Salesforce told the publication that the presentation was merely a "landscape" of potential targets, and didn't indicate intent to buy. The report cautions that Box, Zendesk, and Workday were listed in the presentation alongside comments such as "CEO has no interest." Twitter (TWTR) was not named in the presentation, the Journal noted.

NO 'OUT OF LEFT FIELD' TARGETS: In a research note this morning, Stephens' Samana noted that while the fears around a potential acquisition of Twitter by Salesforce have been extinguished, investors remain concerned about another "out of left field" deal. However, after he reviewed the full 60-page presentation, he found that Salesforce's 14-company interest list is "the usual suspects" and is comprised of companies that would make sense with its overall growth strategy. Samana found Adobe particularly interesting among all the names, as the acquisition would be more of a merger of equals and one he thinks investors would applaud. Nonetheless, the absence of Twitter and any other surprising targets should help allay any remaining concerns that Salesforce will make a large acquisition that does not make strategic sense, he contended. Additionally, the analyst told investors that holes in the company's marketing cloud could drive near-term M&A strategy, especially since two key competitors, namely Adobe and Oracle (ORCL), are highlighted as having a more complete set of offerings. Samana reiterated an Overweight rating and $94 price target on Salesforce's shares.

PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Salesforce are fractionally down to $72.49, while ServiceNow's stock has advanced 4.5% to $79.55 per share. Meanwhile, shares of Tableau Software and Pegasystems have jumped about 6% and 7%, respectively, after the story regarding the email.