Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Key Points

• Citigroup raised Salesforce’s price target to $233 from $204 but maintained a neutral rating, implying roughly 8% downside from the prior close. The broader analyst consensus remains more positive, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $261.15.
• Salesforce reported substantially better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $5.90 per share versus the $3.27 consensus, while revenue increased 10.8% year over year to $11.35 billion.
• AI momentum and higher guidance supported the stock’s rally: Salesforce raised its fiscal 2027 outlook, cited accelerating demand for Agentforce and Data 360, and announced an Anthropic partnership, though valuation and long-term platform risks remain concerns.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $204.00 to $233.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential downside of 8.15% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $222.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $261.15.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $48.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $253.68. The stock had a trading volume of 48,093,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,853,799. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.60. Salesforce has a one year low of $146.32 and a one year high of $269.11. The firm has a market cap of $207.76 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.91 EPS. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 10.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 10,198 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Results exceeded expectations: Salesforce reported adjusted EPS of $5.90 versus the $3.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $11.35 billion, broadly ahead of forecasts. Profit was also helped by a roughly $2.6 billion gain on strategic investments, including the company’s Anthropic stake. Salesforce stock jumps on AI growth and Anthropic investment gain
• Positive Sentiment: Raised guidance supports the rally: Salesforce lifted fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion and EPS guidance to $16.67-$16.71. Third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.42-$3.44 also topped the $3.16 analyst estimate, signaling confidence in continued growth. Salesforce raises annual revenue forecasts on AI product momentum
• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum is easing disruption fears: Current remaining performance obligations accelerated 14% in constant currency, while Agentforce and Data 360 annual recurring revenue approached $3.9 billion. Management said AI usage has surged, strengthening the argument that AI agents can expand Salesforce’s platform rather than replace it. Salesforce Q2 results and the SaaSpocalypse bear case
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic partnership adds strategic momentum: The new “Claudeforce” integration brings Anthropic’s Claude into Salesforce workflows, data and Agentforce, giving investors a clearer path to monetize enterprise AI. Salesforce and Anthropic announce Claudeforce
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reaction is favorable but not unanimous: JPMorgan and Mizuho raised their targets to $265 with bullish ratings, while Truist set $300 and Needham maintained a $400 target. However, UBS, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo kept neutral-equivalent ratings with targets below the current trading level; Bernstein raised its target to $195 but retained an underperform rating.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and platform risks remain: Some analysts argue the rally may be a temporary rebound after a prolonged decline. Salesforce is again valued above its one-year average, and Anthropic’s control of the AI orchestration layer could limit Salesforce’s long-term strategic leverage. Salesforce dead cat bounce analysis

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.

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