KeyCorp Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at KeyCorp from $400.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 61.90% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.56.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $185.30 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $174.57 and a 1 year high of $313.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $229.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.57. The firm has a market cap of $173.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.27.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 1,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,499.28. The trade was a 22.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,271.30. The trade was a 34.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $375 price target (about 110% above the current level), a large upside that supports a bullish narrative among some institutional investors. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce is expanding AI capabilities (Momentum acquisition, deeper Slackbot/Agentforce integrations and partnerships) — these product moves strengthen revenue-orchestration and conversational AI positioning, which investors view as long-term growth drivers. Salesforce Expands AI Capabilities With Momentum Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: TV/market commentator Jim Cramer signaled a bullish stance on Salesforce, saying he’s “on the wrong side of history” with the stock — a public endorsement that can attract retail/institutional attention. Jim Cramer: I’m on the Wrong Side of History With Salesforce
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI adoption headlines (e.g., commentary on AI automation and labor substitution) reinforce the secular tailwind for Salesforce’s AI-enabled cloud offerings. AI Robots May Outnumber Workers in a Few Decades
• Neutral Sentiment: The market faces an earnings event tomorrow after the close — analysts and options traders expect a sizable move, increasing short-term volatility around CRM. Expected Post-Earnings Move
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and sentiment pieces show active positioning — traders are pricing in uncertainty, which could amplify moves independent of fundamentals. Salesforce Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed but busy — a recent roundup shows divergent price targets and models across 31 analysts, contributing to noisy near-term guidance interpretation. Analyst Outlook Roundup
• Negative Sentiment: Several major firms cut price targets ahead of the Q4 report, signaling skepticism on near-term growth and boosting downside risk if results or guidance disappoint. Price Target Cuts Ahead of Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators flag persistent stock-based compensation and cooling revenue growth as margin/headwind risks — a focus for investors evaluating EPS sustainability. Why I’m Still Not Buying Salesforce
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity and coverage about insiders exiting add to near-term investor caution; combined with valuation debate, this increases selling pressure ahead of earnings. Insiders Exiting

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.