Morgan Stanley Raises Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $235.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Salesforce’s price target to $235 from $185 but maintained an “equal weight” rating, implying little upside from the stock’s $235.05 opening price. The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with a $252.28 target.
• Salesforce significantly beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $5.90 in EPS versus the $3.27 consensus, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $11.35 billion. Management also issued fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $16.67–$16.71.
• Institutional investors own 80.43% of Salesforce’s shares. The company’s stock has traded between $146.32 and $269.11 over the past year, reflecting continued volatility despite positive earnings and AI-related growth prospects.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $235.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.02% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Salesforce from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $252.28.

Salesforce Stock Up 14.3%

CRM opened at $235.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $192.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $146.32 and a fifty-two week high of $269.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.13 and a 200-day moving average of $181.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The business had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. The firm'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. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 10.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Salesforce by 410.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat expectations: Salesforce reported adjusted earnings of $5.90 per share, well above the $3.27 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $11.35 billion, slightly exceeding estimates. Salesforce Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook: Management increased fiscal 2027 guidance to $46.1 billion-$46.4 billion in revenue and $16.67-$16.71 in EPS. Third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.42-$3.44 also exceeds the $3.16 consensus, signaling confidence in sustained growth. Salesforce Raises Annual Revenue Forecasts on AI Product Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: AI adoption is accelerating: Agentforce annual recurring revenue reached $1.5 billion, and management said AI usage on the platform increased sixfold. These metrics help counter fears that generative AI could replace traditional enterprise software. Salesforce Q2 2027 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic partnership expands: Salesforce and Anthropic introduced “Claudeforce,” integrating Claude with Salesforce data, workflows and 37 prebuilt sales skills. The collaboration supports Salesforce’s effort to make AI agents a growth engine and reinforces its competitive positioning. Salesforce and Anthropic Announce Claudeforce
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $400 target, while Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its target to $266 and Cantor Fitzgerald maintained Overweight with a $250 target. These targets imply substantial upside but do not guarantee future performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Risks remain: Revenue growth remains near 11%, and Salesforce’s stock has been volatile amid concerns about AI-driven software disruption. The large investment gain cited in the quarter may also be less recurring than operating results.

About Salesforce

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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