Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 5.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares rose 5.4% on Friday, trading above recent levels on heavier-than-normal volume, though the stock remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating with a $240 target, and the overall consensus is still Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $257.61.
• Investor focus is on AI-driven growth, especially Agentforce and other agentic tools, but some reports highlight skepticism about adoption, costs, and whether these products can deliver a sustained turnaround.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 5.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $158.46 and last traded at $158.2260. 19,867,233 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 14,057,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.19.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed its Buy rating and $240 price target on Salesforce, citing AI momentum and continued traction for Agentforce as growth drivers. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating on Salesforce (CRM) as AI Momentum and Agentforce Drive Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple commentary pieces argue Salesforce is being oversold and may be an attractive value play after the selloff, with one article pointing to the company’s large enterprise software franchise and AI capabilities as reasons the market may be underestimating the business. Salesforce: Taking Advantage Of The Market's Misunderstanding Of Enterprise Software
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s AI strategy remains in focus, including the launch of new agentic tools such as Agentforce and Agentic Advisor, which are being framed as efforts to reaccelerate growth and improve monetization of its enterprise CRM platform. Salesforce Agentforce: A Comprehensive Enterprise Cheat Sheet and Review
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks article notes Salesforce is still down meaningfully since its last earnings report and asks whether the stock can rebound, reinforcing that investors are still waiting for proof that recent AI initiatives can translate into a sustained turnaround. Salesforce (CRM) Down 14.8% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Negative Sentiment: One report says Salesforce’s new AI-focused offering for RIAs is drawing concerns about costs, implementation hassles, and whether the product will deliver enough benefit, suggesting some skepticism around near-term adoption of its AI products. Salesforce tries to catch up on AI and halt precipitous stock slide with launch of 'Agentic Advisor' for RIAs
• Negative Sentiment: A broader AI selloff across big tech and software names is creating a tougher backdrop for Salesforce, which can pressure valuation multiples even when company-specific news is favorable. The AI Selloff Is Getting Brutal: 10 Tech Giants Already Deep in Bear Market Territory

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price objective on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. HC Wainwright cut Salesforce to a "negative" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $175.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $129.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $11.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.29 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 10,198 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 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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