Sanford C. Bernstein Lowers Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $194.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $223.00 to $194.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underperform” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target indicates a potential downside of 1.12% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CRM. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Salesforce from $398.00 to $287.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.81.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $4.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $196.19. 15,681,907 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,229,853. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $174.57 and a 12 month high of $304.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $226.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 14.41%. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,271.30. The trade was a 34.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 1,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and AI traction — Salesforce reported non-GAAP EPS of $3.81 (well above consensus) and revenue roughly in line with expectations; management highlighted Agentforce (agentic AI) momentum as a driver of commercial traction. Salesforce Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Big capital return boost — Management authorized a $50 billion buyback and raised the quarterly dividend (~5.8% increase), signaling confidence and supporting EPS per-share upside. CNBC: $50B Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Upbeat FY27 EPS guide — Salesforce raised FY27 EPS guidance (13.11–13.19) and issued Q1 EPS guidance above Street estimates, suggesting margin leverage and near‑term earnings strength. Company Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — Some firms (e.g., Wedbush) reiterated bullish ratings while others kept holds; the street consensus remains polarized between Buy and Hold views. TipRanks / Citi Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector context — Broader SaaS volatility and AI‑disruption debate continue to drive sentiment swings that can amplify moves in CRM despite company-level fundamentals. MarketBeat: SaaS sector context
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target cuts and downgrades — Multiple analysts cut targets this morning (RBC 290→210; Barclays 265→252; Stifel 300→250; BMO 235→225), which can cap upside and sustain selling pressure. Benzinga: Analyst Target Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term revenue/growth concerns — Some outlets flagged guidance/revenue commentary as softer than hoped, and ongoing investor worry that AI could compress long-term SaaS pricing/usage is keeping multiple investors cautious. Proactive: Softer Revenue Reaction

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.