Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Short Interest Up 14.8% in February

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 21,903,394 shares, an increase of 14.8% from the February 12th total of 19,084,122 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 15,543,626 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 15,543,626 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $194.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,531,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,617,754. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.16. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $174.57 and a 52 week high of $296.05.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The CRM provider reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for 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 was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the CRM provider to repurchase up to 14.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 22.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.21.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce began a record $25 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR), which reduces share count quickly and supports EPS and returns. This is a clear signal management is buying shares and expects cash flows to support the program. Salesforce commences $25B share buyback
• Positive Sentiment: CRM is pushing “Agentic AI” (Agentforce + Data Cloud) as a growth driver; analysts note these AI-led products are accelerating revenues and bookings, which could reaccelerate top-line growth if adoption continues. Salesforce’s Agentic AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with NVIDIA to integrate AI agents into workflows strengthens product differentiation and accelerates go-to-market for AI features — a near-term catalyst for bookings and customer retention. Salesforce Teams with NVIDIA
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and firms reiterated Buy/thesis on Salesforce’s capital allocation and AI strategy after the buyback announcement, providing investor support and a higher price target in parts of the market. Buy rating on capital allocation
• Neutral Sentiment: The Board formally authorized up to $25B in repurchases (allowing ~14% of shares) — positive structurally but distinct from the timing and mechanics of the ASR already underway. Stock Buyback Plan Initiated
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and market write-ups characterize Salesforce as “doubling down” on AI while navigating macro/geopolitical volatility — framing the story but not altering fundamentals immediately. Doubling down in uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned the $25B ASR was substantially funded by a large multi?tranche debt issuance (notes maturing 2028–2066) plus a $6B term loan refinance, materially changing Salesforce’s capital structure and raising leverage/interest-rate risk. Some analysts warn this debt-funded move could alter the bull case. Bull case and debt-funded buyback
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term volatility risk flagged by markets and traders (including options flows around geopolitical scenarios) can amplify selling pressure as the market digests leverage and macro risks. Options play for geopolitical uncertainty

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.70, for a total transaction of $929,259.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,299 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,271.30. This represents a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.43% of the stock is 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.