Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Up 3% – Here’s Why

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares rose 3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $228.72 and last traded at $228.19. Approximately 9,456,300 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 9,131,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.58.

Salesforce News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts note Salesforce’s push into agentic AI (Agentforce) and continued monetization of Data Cloud as potential drivers to reignite revenue growth and margins, which investors view as a credible growth pathway. Salesforce Bets on Agentic AI: Will It Reignite CRM’s Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlights Salesforce’s recent market outperformance and investor attention after its latest session close, reinforcing momentum among buyers. Salesforce.com (CRM) Surpasses Market Returns: Some Facts Worth Knowing
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takes (Seeking Alpha, Forbes) argue the selloff is overdone and that CRM is trading in a historical support range, framing the stock as a potential buying opportunity for contrarian investors. Salesforce: The Selloff Is Overdone, A Contrarian Buy Opportunity (Rating Upgrade)
• Neutral Sentiment: High-profile coverage (Jim Cramer) is calling attention to Salesforce’s seat-based model and platform strategy; increased media focus can boost flows but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Jim Cramer Discusses Salesforce (CRM)’s Seat Model
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings previews are mixed: Salesforce posted $3.25 EPS vs. $2.86 consensus and ~9% YoY revenue growth, with Q4 FY2026 EPS guidance of $3.02–$3.04—numbers that support valuation but leave some growth questions. Salesforce earnings preview: What to expect
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure from vertical SaaS peers (notably Veeva in life sciences) and questions about services execution are being raised as risks to Salesforce’s growth and win rates in certain industries. Veeva vs Salesforce – the services questions that Life Sciences organizations need to be asking – and time is running
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses and headlines flag investor concerns—slowing growth relative to lofty AI expectations and valuation risks—which have contributed to recent volatility and caution among some funds. What Is Spooking CRM Stock Investors?
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets include Salesforce on “stocks to avoid” lists amid the AI hype, highlighting execution and competitive risks that could pressure sentiment if growth disappoints. Top 5 Stocks to Avoid Despite the AI Hype

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Salesforce from $405.00 to $398.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $213.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $248.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 1,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $258.64 per share, with a total value of $500,727.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,761,499.28. This trade represents a 22.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total value of $929,259.10. Following the transaction, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,677 shares of company stock worth $34,865,371. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.0% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 87,331 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $23,814,000 after buying an additional 3,387 shares during the last quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $1,458,000. Advyzon Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 78.0% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 43,186 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,235,000 after purchasing an additional 18,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 206,614 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $56,342,000 after purchasing an additional 16,176 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Salesforce

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.