Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 4.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Salesforce shares fell 4.1% on heavy trading volume, with the stock dropping to as low as $198.21 after closing at $209.33 the prior session.
• Fundamentals remain strong: Salesforce recently beat both earnings and revenue estimates, and its latest quarter showed 13.3% year-over-year revenue growth along with strong free cash flow.
• Analyst sentiment is still mostly positive but less aggressive, as several firms cut price targets after results and some technical traders warn the stock may face near-term resistance after its recent rally.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded down 4.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $198.21 and last traded at $200.8240. 27,524,154 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 104% from the average session volume of 13,477,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.3260.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media commentary remain constructive on Salesforce’s AI strategy, with TD Cowen reiterating a Buy rating and a $250 target, while other coverage highlighted the company’s AI expansion as a reason shares may still have upside. Jim Cramer Is Optimistic About Salesforce (CRM) & Agentics
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s latest quarter beat estimates on both earnings and revenue, reinforcing the view that the business is still growing and generating strong free cash flow, which is supportive for long-term investors. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Beats on Earnings and Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Reports about Salesforce’s AI push, including the Anthropic investment and Contentful acquisition, suggest management is trying to strengthen the platform and deepen AI capabilities, which could improve growth prospects if execution goes well. Salesforce AI Push With Anthropic And Contentful Meets Undervalued Share Price
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce remains one of the most watched software names, and broader software-sector momentum has improved as investors rotate back into SaaS stocks after AI-related fears eased. NOW, IBM, software stocks surge as Huang eases AI fears; analysts see more upside
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets after the quarter, including DA Davidson and KeyBanc, signaling that some analysts think near-term upside is more limited after the recent run. DA Davidson Cuts PT on Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Following Q1 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Technical traders are flagging resistance in the stock and warning that CRM could pull back after its recent rally, adding to short-term selling pressure. Is This The Top For Salesforce?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered Salesforce from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their target price on Salesforce from $267.00 to $229.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.97.

Salesforce Trading Down 4.1%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.06 and a 200-day moving average of $210.11. 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 firm has a market cap of $164.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.05 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

Salesforce declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,066 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 12,017 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 98.3% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 21,455 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,085,000 after buying an additional 10,633 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 187,071 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $44,336,000 after buying an additional 4,233 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 467,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $113,420,000 after acquiring an additional 61,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 281,054 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $66,610,000 after acquiring an additional 83,403 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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