Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 2% to about $244.19 on Wednesday, with trading volume below average. The decline followed a sharp recent rally that has brought the stock near its 52-week high, raising profit-taking and valuation concerns.
• AI remains the central growth catalyst: Agentforce annual recurring revenue has surpassed $1.5 billion, while Salesforce is reportedly considering a roughly $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Listen Labs. Investors will weigh the potential growth benefits against acquisition and integration risks.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $266.50 price target. The company recently beat earnings expectations with $5.90 adjusted EPS and $11.35 billion in revenue, and upcoming Dreamforce and Investor Day events could provide further guidance on AI monetization and growth.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $243.45 and last traded at $244.1920. Approximately 11,813,968 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 14,091,065 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.12.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Agentforce adoption is accelerating. Salesforce’s Agentforce annual recurring revenue has surpassed $1.5 billion, supporting the company’s strategy to monetize AI agents and potentially improve revenue growth over time. However, the current scale suggests a steady acceleration rather than an immediate surge. Agentforce ARR Hits $1.5B: Can It Boost Salesforce's Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on long-term growth. Recent commentary points to stabilizing growth, rising Agentforce recurring revenue and a valuation that remains below some major enterprise-software rivals. Salesforce also recently reported adjusted EPS of $5.90, well above the $3.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming company events could determine the next direction. Dreamforce and Investor Day next week may provide updated guidance on AI monetization, Agentforce demand and Salesforce’s growth outlook. Bulls see these events as potential catalysts, while the stock’s recent rally leaves limited room for disappointment. Salesforce is Nearly Fully Priced: Why Bulls Say This is Just the Beginning
• Negative Sentiment: Salesforce is reportedly considering a sizable AI acquisition. The company has held talks to acquire Listen Labs, an AI customer-research platform, for approximately $2 billion—four times its latest reported valuation. Investors may question the price, integration risks and whether the deal would accelerate growth enough to justify the expense. Salesforce has held talks to buy Listen Labs
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking are adding pressure. Salesforce’s stock has risen sharply over the past month and is near its 52-week high, prompting debate over whether the AI opportunity is already reflected in the price. Articles also caution that the latest earnings beat may not represent a durable acceleration, increasing sensitivity to any weaker outlook or slower AI conversion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Salesforce from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Salesforce from $236.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $266.50.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.92. The firm has a market cap of $200.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.65 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13,260.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 188,085,056 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,465,405,000 after acquiring an additional 186,677,290 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,396,844,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,080,230 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $13,286,909,000 after purchasing an additional 659,573 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position 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 worth $12,552,896,000 after buying an additional 47,189,352 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,721,010 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,019,199,000 after buying an additional 2,669,891 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc is a cloud-based software company that provides customer relationship management (CRM) technology and related enterprise applications. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data analytics and business operations through subscription-based software and cloud services.

The company's product portfolio includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Data Cloud and the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce also offers Slack for workplace collaboration, Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and artificial intelligence capabilities, including its Agentforce platform for building and deploying AI agents.

Founded in 1999, Salesforce is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and serves businesses and organizations across a broad range of industries and geographic markets worldwide.

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