TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $250.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 33.43% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price objective on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $281.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.32.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of CRM stock traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $179.87. 11,586,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,932,185. The business’s fifty day moving average is $181.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $163.52 and a 12-month high of $276.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.96% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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, research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura Alber acquired 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.58 per share, with a total value of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,347.40. The trade was a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 2,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, for a total transaction of $500,173.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. The trade was a 23.11% 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, United Bank boosted its position in Salesforce by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 10,198 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $3.88 versus $3.13 expected and revenue of $11.13 billion topping estimates, reinforcing confidence in the business. Salesforce earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY2027 EPS guidance to $14.06-$14.12, above Wall Street expectations, suggesting stronger profitability ahead. Salesforce earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts reaffirmed or raised bullish views, including Wedbush at $325, Citizens JMP at $315, Cantor Fitzgerald at $250, and Piper Sandler at $215, signaling broad Wall Street support for CRM. Analyst updates
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce announced an expanded collaboration with CVS Health to use Agentforce Health in call centers, highlighting real-world adoption of its AI products and supporting the AI growth story. CVS Health collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary says the stock remains weighed down by the debate over how Salesforce will compete in an AI-disrupted software market, even as the company tries to position Agentforce as a growth driver. Salesforce earnings analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce’s Q2 revenue guidance of about $11.3 billion was slightly below some expectations, and cRPO growth slowed to 14% from 16%, which helps explain why enthusiasm has been tempered. CNBC earnings coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo and DA Davidson cut their price targets, reflecting some caution around near-term growth even though both kept relatively neutral-to-mixed ratings. Analyst updates

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.