Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 3.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 3.1% to about $186.96, and the stock is down more than 30% in 2026 as investors question whether AI agents can generate enough revenue to offset software-commoditization concerns.
• Salesforce announced that its secure Agentforce 360 AI agents were deployed by the U.S. Army, while CEO Marc Benioff defended the company’s AI strategy. The upcoming fiscal 2027 second-quarter earnings report will provide a key test of AI demand, monetization and guidance.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $249.51, although targets and ratings vary widely. The company also recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, 13.3% year-over-year revenue growth and a $0.44 quarterly dividend.

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) dropped 3.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $183.00 and last traded at $186.9590. 11,190,601 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 13,756,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.98.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced that its IL5-authorized Agentforce 360 AI agents have been deployed by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. The government deployment could validate Salesforce’s ability to provide secure, autonomous AI services for mission-critical workloads and potentially support growth in the public-sector business. Why Is Salesforce Deploying IL5 AI Agents in a Major Government Role?
• Positive Sentiment: Chief Executive Marc Benioff said concerns that AI will eliminate the need for Salesforce are “dead wrong,” arguing that the company is positioned to benefit from AI-powered digital labor. His comments reinforce management’s confidence in Agentforce and could help support the long-term investment case if adoption accelerates. Marc Benioff Says Wall Street's Fears That AI Will Kill Salesforce Are Dead Wrong
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from “hold” to “buy,” adding a favorable analyst view as the stock trades well below its one-year high. Salesforce Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce promoted revenue chief Miguel Milano, a former Oracle executive, to operating chief. The move may improve execution, but investors will likely look for evidence that the new leadership structure increases growth and AI monetization. Marc Benioff Gets a New Operating Chief
• Neutral Sentiment: The company scheduled its fiscal 2027 second-quarter earnings release and webcast, giving investors a near-term catalyst to assess Agentforce demand, margins and updated guidance. Salesforce Announces Second-Quarter Fiscal 2027 Earnings Date
• Negative Sentiment: Despite management’s optimism, Salesforce stock has fallen more than 30% in 2026. The decline suggests investors remain skeptical that AI agents will generate enough incremental revenue to offset fears of software commoditization and customer displacement. Salesforce AI and Stock Analysis

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $228.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Salesforce from $194.00 to $173.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.51.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $153.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $170.99 and its 200 day moving average is $183.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The business had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.27 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 410.3% during the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 148 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source