Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 9.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares jumped 9.5% on heavy volume, with trading boosted by a broader rebound in software stocks after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang eased concerns that AI will hurt software demand.
• Investor sentiment was also supported by better-than-expected quarterly results: Salesforce beat both earnings and revenue estimates and posted strong cash flow, helping reinforce the stock’s recovery.
• The company is leaning harder into AI-driven growth through initiatives such as a reported Contentful acquisition and expanded AI customer engagement efforts, though analyst views remain mixed with some recent price-target cuts.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded up 9.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $211.34 and last traded at $209.3260. 27,149,570 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 103% from the average session volume of 13,386,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.10.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is benefiting from a sector-wide rebound in software stocks after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang eased fears that AI will undermine software demand, lifting sentiment across names like CRM. Now, IBM, software stocks surge as Huang eases AI fears; analysts see more upside
• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is being reinforced by Salesforce’s recent quarter, where it beat earnings and revenue estimates and delivered strong cash flow, helping support the stock’s rebound. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Beats on Earnings and Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is expanding its AI push, including a reported Contentful acquisition and deeper AI-driven customer engagement efforts, which could strengthen its competitive position and growth outlook. CRM Stock Jumps Amid Software Rally — Company Expands AI Push With Contentful Acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focus on Salesforce’s international revenue mix, analyst coverage, and broader investor interest, but these are more informational than immediate stock-moving catalysts. Salesforce (CRM) Reliance on International Sales: What Investors Need to Know Investors Heavily Search Salesforce, Inc. (CRM): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary questioning whether Salesforce can thrive in an AI-dominated market adds debate around the stock’s long-term valuation, but does not appear to be a direct negative catalyst today. SA asks: Can Salesforce thrive in an AI-dominated world?
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent pieces still highlight that CRM has been down sharply this year, and valuation concerns remain after BMO trimmed its price target, even while keeping a bullish rating. Is Salesforce (CRM) the Best Undervalued Stock to Buy According to the Financial Media?

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $210.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.97.

Salesforce Trading Up 9.5%

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $180.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.36. 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 $171.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the CRM provider to purchase up to 14.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Mathes Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,548,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 2,774 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.