Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 2.3% to about $241 in Friday midday trading, amid a broader enterprise-software selloff driven by concerns over AI investment returns, inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates.
• The company’s AI expansion offers a potential growth catalyst: its new Hunter sales agent, partnerships with ZoomInfo, Demandbase and DocuSign, and the Loops acquisition are intended to increase adoption of higher-value AI products.
• Despite growth concerns and execution risk from premium AI pricing, analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $278.12 versus the current share price.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) shares traded down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $237.26 and last traded at $241.0050. Approximately 8,217,122 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 13,549,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $246.74.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI product expansion could support growth. Salesforce launched Hunter, an AI-powered outbound sales agent within Agentforce, with ZoomInfo and Demandbase providing prospect data and an expanded DocuSign partnership supporting agreement workflows. These integrations could increase customer usage of Salesforce’s higher-value products. Salesforce Unveils Hunter For AI Powered Outbound Sales
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and acquisitions provide a counterpoint to the selloff. Bank of America reportedly upgraded Salesforce from Underperform to Buy, citing changes in AI product pricing and a small AI acquisition. Salesforce’s acquisition of Loops is also being viewed as an effort to strengthen its AI capabilities and revive growth. Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is high, but searches are not a fundamental catalyst. Salesforce was among the most heavily searched stocks on Zacks, increasing visibility but offering little direct evidence of changing revenue, earnings or customer demand. Investors Heavily Search Salesforce
• Negative Sentiment: AI financing and valuation concerns are weighing on the entire sector. Enterprise software stocks, including Salesforce, sold off as investors questioned whether large AI investments will generate sufficient returns. Higher inflation and expectations for elevated interest rates are also encouraging rotation away from growth-oriented technology shares. Enterprise Software Stocks Fall as AI Financing Worries Spread
• Negative Sentiment: Growth comparisons remain a concern. ServiceNow is expanding revenue faster than Salesforce, while Salesforce’s strategy of charging substantially more for premium AI-enabled editions creates execution risk if customers resist upgrades. Is Adobe a Better Way Than Salesforce to Own AI Software Growth?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Susquehanna initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $289.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Salesforce in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.12.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.3%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $230.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.26.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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 stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 4,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $239.33 per share, with a total value of $999,442.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This represents a 28.66% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 592 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $262,000. Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $253,000. Goldstein Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $266,000. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,714 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc NYSE: CRM develops cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software and enterprise applications. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, analytics, data integration and collaboration through subscription-based services.

The company's product portfolio includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Salesforce Platform, Data Cloud and Tableau. Salesforce also offers MuleSoft integration technology, Slack collaboration software and artificial intelligence capabilities through its Einstein platform.

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