Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein raised Salesforce’s price target from $173 to $195 but maintained an “underperform” rating, implying roughly 22% downside from the prior close.
• Salesforce reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $5.90 versus the $3.27 consensus and revenue of $11.35 billion, up 10.8% year over year. The company also issued fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $16.67–$16.71.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average target of $256.69, though some firms remain cautious about valuation and AI-related volatility.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by Sanford C. Bernstein from $173.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underperform" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's target price points to a potential downside of 21.94% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $222.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.69.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded up $44.18 on Thursday, reaching $249.80. 25,516,033 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,713,079. The firm has a market cap of $204.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $146.32 and a twelve month high of $269.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.13 and a 200-day moving average of $181.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 10.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,548,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD increased its position in Salesforce by 2.4% in the third quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 2,035 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 199 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 8,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the first quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,098 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sales and earnings beat expectations. Salesforce reported adjusted earnings of $5.90 per share, well above the $3.27 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $11.35 billion versus expectations of approximately $11.33 billion. Revenue increased 10.8% year over year. Salesforce Stock Soars After Strong Results, Raised Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce raised its fiscal 2027 outlook. Full-year revenue guidance is now $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion, while adjusted EPS guidance is $16.67 to $16.71. Third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.42 to $3.44 also exceeds the $3.16 analyst consensus, signaling confidence in organic growth and expected acquisitions. Salesforce raises annual revenue forecasts on AI product momentum
• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum eased fears that AI agents could undermine Salesforce’s software business. Agentforce ARR reached about $1.5 billion, while combined Agentforce and Data 360 ARR approached $3.9 billion. Agentforce grew more than 240% year over year, and customer AI usage reportedly surged sixfold. CRM Stock Heads For Best Day in 6 Years
• Positive Sentiment: The expanded Anthropic partnership adds strategic support. “Claudeforce” will combine Anthropic’s Claude with Salesforce data, workflows and governance, allowing enterprise users to access CRM capabilities through AI-driven experiences. Salesforce also benefited from a reported $2.6 billion gain on strategic investments, including its Anthropic stake. Salesforce and Anthropic Announce Claudeforce
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved but remains divided. Truist raised its target to $300 and maintained a buy rating, while Needham kept a buy rating with a $400 target and BMO upgraded its target to $260. However, UBS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley raised targets while retaining neutral or equal-weight ratings, with targets below the current trading level.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and volatility remain risks. Several analysts’ below-market targets suggest that the rally may have priced in much of the earnings and AI improvement, while software stocks remain vulnerable to sharp moves as investors reassess the impact of AI on traditional applications.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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