Salesforce's (CRM) "Overweight" Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its “overweight” rating on Salesforce and set a $300 price target, implying approximately 24% upside from the stock’s reported $241.87 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Salesforce carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $278.98. The company also exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and reported 10.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insiders and institutions showed mixed activity: one director sold shares while another purchased nearly $1 million worth, and hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of Salesforce’s stock.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by Cantor Fitzgerald in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $300.00 target price on the CRM provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would indicate a potential upside of 24.04% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, October 12th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.98.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE CRM traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $241.87. 2,079,679 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,433,795. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $146.32 and a 52-week high of $269.11. The firm has a market cap of $199.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.33 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. Salesforce's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This represents a 28.66% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $11,396,844,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $1,914,086,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 130.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,363,096,000 after buying an additional 7,160,302 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $844,928,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce agreed to acquire customer-engagement software provider Braze for approximately $5.66 billion in cash, or $47.50 per share—a 58% premium. Braze’s real-time customer data and engagement tools could strengthen Salesforce’s Agentforce AI platform and fill a gap in Marketing Cloud’s ability to process live consumer events. Salesforce Fuels AI Engine With $5.66B Braze Buyout
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its “overweight” rating and set a $300 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Zacks also ranks CRM highly on its value metrics, which may attract investors after Salesforce’s strong earnings and recent share-price gains. Salesforce Is a Top-Ranked Value Stock
• Positive Sentiment: The broader AI spending cycle remains a potential tailwind. Salesforce is viewed as needing to prove that customers will purchase its AI agents, while the Braze deal and recent data-focused investments could improve its competitive position and monetization prospects.
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s expected fiscal 2028 closing timeline gives the company time to obtain antitrust approval and limits immediate disruption to its fiscal 2027 outlook. Investors will monitor Braze customer retention, integration progress and Agentforce revenue during the extended period.
• Negative Sentiment: The acquisition initially weighed on CRM because Salesforce is paying a significant premium for a company that has been unprofitable. The all-cash transaction consumes capital, while integration costs, overlapping operations and potential regulatory scrutiny could pressure margins and delay financial benefits. Salesforce Announces $5.66 Billion Braze Deal
• Negative Sentiment: With CRM having already advanced sharply on improving growth expectations and AI-related optimism, some investors may be taking profits and demanding clearer evidence that the Braze purchase will accelerate revenue rather than simply increase acquisition risk.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company's products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.