Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares opened lower after gapping down from $173.79 to $167.06, though they later traded back near $171.78.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive: MarketBeat shows a Moderate Buy consensus with a $249.51 price target, while Morgan Stanley cut its target to $185 and kept an equal-weight rating.
• Recent headlines highlight both AI-driven opportunity and risk for CRM, including a U.S. Air Force adoption of Missionforce and a report that a customer canceled a $600,000 annual Salesforce contract after building an AI replacement.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $173.79, but opened at $167.06. Salesforce shares last traded at $171.7820, with a volume of 1,977,113 shares changing hands.

More Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks said Salesforce has a slight edge over Adobe thanks to faster AI growth, stronger earnings revisions, and a lower valuation, which supports the bull case for CRM. Salesforce vs. Adobe: Which Enterprise Software Stock Has the Edge?
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is drawing attention as a widely watched stock, and recent commentary framed it as a potential “buy the dip” candidate, suggesting some investors still see value at current levels. Salesforce Stock: Buy the Dip?
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce also got a boost from business news showing its Missionforce platform being adopted by the U.S. Air Force for global vehicle fleet management, reinforcing the company’s AI and secure-cloud positioning in defense. Salesforce (CRM) Lands Broad Air Force Role Managing A Global Military Vehicle Fleet
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on Salesforce but cut its price target sharply to $185 from $287, signaling a more cautious valuation outlook even though the new target still implies some upside from recent trading levels. Morgan Stanley rating update via Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce remained in the spotlight after Zacks noted the stock has been one of its most-watched names lately, but the note was more about investor interest than a clear catalyst. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh reports that a customer canceled a $600,000-a-year Salesforce contract after building a replacement CRM with AI in two months are a negative reminder that generative AI could threaten parts of Salesforce’s software spending. Curative CEO says company ditched a $600k-a-year Salesforce contract after vibecoding a CRM in 2 months
• Negative Sentiment: Additional fund-sale headlines around CRM and articles questioning how AI disruption affects Salesforce are likely keeping some investors cautious about the stock’s growth durability. Here’s Why This Fund Sold Salesforce (CRM) in Q2

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Salesforce from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Salesforce from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $138.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $170.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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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