Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 2.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 2.1% on Thursday, with trading volume below normal, as the stock slid from its prior close of $180.10 to around $176.35.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but broadly positive: the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though recent price-target cuts from firms like Bank of America and Citi reflect concerns about AI-related structural changes, slower deal activity, and competition.
• Fundamentals and shareholder returns remain supportive, with Salesforce recently beating earnings estimates, raising its dividend, and authorizing a $25 billion share repurchase plan, even as the stock trades below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 2.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $171.99 and last traded at $176.3530. Approximately 10,060,423 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 12,905,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.10.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is seeing continued optimism around its AI push, including coverage highlighting Agentforce momentum and a new collaboration with Cint to deliver AI-powered support, both of which support the company’s long-term automation and enterprise AI story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentaries say analysts remain broadly bullish on Salesforce, and recent pieces continue to frame CRM as a potentially solid value or earnings-growth name heading into results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple previews focus on upcoming quarterly metrics, with investors watching whether Salesforce can beat estimates and show healthy revenue, margin, and subscription trends in the next report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce is being compared with other software peers on valuation and revenue trends, but these articles are largely framed as watch-items rather than new fundamental changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated an Underperform rating and a $160 price target, arguing Salesforce faces an “AI-driven structural reset,” which adds to concerns about the company’s growth outlook. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Citi also lowered its target on Salesforce, citing slower deal activity and rising competition, reinforcing the idea that near-term demand trends may be cooling. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. 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. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.12.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $182.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 13.110-13.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.110-3.130 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.54%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 2,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura Alber purchased 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. This represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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.

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