Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 3.5% – Should You Sell?
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailySalesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded down 3.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $178.82 and last traded at $179.1390. 9,791,147 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 12,866,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.64.
Salesforce News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:
- Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Department of Labor selected Salesforce’s Agentforce to power a new AI contact center (DOLA), validating Salesforce’s AI platform at a large federal scale and supporting future revenue/renewal momentum. Salesforce Lands DoL Deal To Power AI Agent ‘DOLA’
- Positive Sentiment: The Veterans Health Administration deployed Salesforce’s agentic operating system across its network, a large commercial/public-sector win that signals enterprise adoption of Agentforce and recurring service/implementation revenue. VHA Deploys Salesforce-Powered Agentic Operating System
- Positive Sentiment: Adecco Group and other customers are adopting Agentforce and related AI offerings, showing commercial traction tied to Salesforce’s Nvidia partnership and reinforcing growth narrative in AI-enabled CRM. Adecco Group Taps Salesforce Inc. (CRM) for Agentforce
- Positive Sentiment: Major buyback thesis: analysts and commentators highlight Salesforce’s $50B repurchase program (including a $25B accelerated tranche) as a catalyst to boost EPS and reduce float — a structural support for the stock. Salesforce: Billions Of Reasons To Own
- Positive Sentiment: Most analysts remain constructive: ~75% of coverage are Buy-rated with a consensus price target well above current levels, and headlines point to insider purchases and optimism around new AI launches. Analysts Bullish on Salesforce (CRM) Amid New AI Launches and Insider Purchases
- Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion from cost cuts and AI-driven efficiency has improved profitability, supporting the case for higher free cash flow even as the company reaccelerates selective investments. Salesforce’s Cost Cuts Boost Margins
- Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group nudged FY27 EPS estimates slightly higher (tiny change), but consensus remains materially below some boutique analyst views — a modest data point rather than a game changer. Erste Group Raises FY2027 EPS Estimate Slightly
- Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce is a trending stock in investor attention metrics — higher visibility can amplify both rallies and selloffs but doesn’t change fundamentals by itself. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) Is a Trending Stock
- Neutral Sentiment: Salesforce granted inducement equity awards related to the Apromore deal — routine integration costs and retention incentives that have limited near-term cash impact but are part of M&A integration. Salesforce Grants Equity Awards to Apromore
- Negative Sentiment: An analyst price-target cut (reported drop ~10.8%) and sector-wide weakness in software/AI names are pressuring sentiment and contributing to near-term share underperformance. Salesforce (CRM) price target decreased by 10.84% to 278.01
- Negative Sentiment: Broader weakness in software stocks and commentary about AI risk/automation (sector bear market theme) increase downside risk if investors rotate out of growth/AI-exposed names. Software Stocks Have Entered a Bear Market
- Negative Sentiment: Recent pieces noting a post-earnings decline and AI-concern headlines have kept pressure on the stock despite solid reported EPS and revenue beat — showing sentiment-driven volatility. Salesforce (CRM) Down 6.9% Since Last Earnings Report
Analysts Set New Price Targets
CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Salesforce from $395.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.21.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Trading Down 3.5%
The firm has a 50 day moving average of $199.36 and a 200 day moving average of $231.38. The firm has a market cap of $165.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.18 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 17.96%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.78 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 22.54%.
Salesforce announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 16th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce
In other Salesforce news, Director Laura Alber bought 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.58 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,347.40. This trade represents a 36.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 2,570 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $194.62 per share, with a total value of $500,173.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,153.18. This represents a 23.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.