Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup trimmed its price target on Salesforce to $187 from $188 and kept a neutral rating, implying only modest upside from the current share price.
• Despite the cautious note, Salesforce’s latest quarterly results were strong: it beat earnings and revenue estimates, posted 13.3% year-over-year revenue growth, and raised guidance.
• Analysts remain mixed overall, with several firms cutting targets but the broader consensus still landing at a Moderate Buy and an average price target of $259.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by Citigroup from $188.00 to $187.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Citigroup's price target indicates a potential upside of 6.07% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.47.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $1.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $176.30. The company had a trading volume of 21,272,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,999,325. The company has a market cap of $144.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $163.52 and a 52 week high of $276.80. The business's 50-day moving average is $181.23 and its 200 day moving average is $211.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to purchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,153.18. This trade represents a 23.11% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24,056.7% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 47,385,511 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,552,896,000 after purchasing an additional 47,189,352 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,182,951,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after purchasing an additional 10,636,161 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 130.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,363,096,000 after purchasing an additional 7,160,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 924.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,883,610 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,028,807,000 after acquiring an additional 3,504,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce reported first-quarter results that beat estimates on both earnings and revenue, with revenue up 13% year over year and Agentforce annual recurring revenue crossing $1 billion, signaling stronger adoption of its AI products. The company also raised guidance and launched a $25 billion accelerated buyback. CRM Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y on ARR Milestone
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced an expanded collaboration with CVS Health to use Agentforce Health for faster, more personalized call-center service, reinforcing the company’s AI platform strategy and potential enterprise demand. CVS Health to Deliver Faster, More Personalized Call Center Care for Millions of Members with Salesforce's Agentforce Health
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street analysts were split after the report: several firms lowered price targets, but many still kept bullish ratings and targets well above the current share price, suggesting ongoing confidence despite near-term caution. Salesforce Q1 Results 'Uninspiring': 'Nothing To Dispel The AI Threat Narrative'
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary said the quarter was good but not enough to fully resolve investor concerns about AI competition and slower top-line momentum, which helps explain why the stock reaction has been cautious despite the beat. Salesforce beats on every metric but the existential AI question lingers
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets, including Sanford C. Bernstein and Wells Fargo, reflecting concern that Salesforce’s revenue outlook was only slightly below expectations and that growth may be moderating. Analyst price target updates on Salesforce

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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