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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price decreased by Mizuho from $340.00 to $280.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price target suggests a potential upside of 49.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CRM. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $335.00 price objective on the stock. Northland Securities lifted their price target on Salesforce from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $187.89 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $180.24 and a 12-month high of $329.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $233.77 and its 200-day moving average is $240.98.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director Neelie Kroes sold 3,893 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Blair Kirk bought 1,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $258.64 per share, for a total transaction of $500,727.04. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $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 Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New and expanded partner integrations (AcuityMD on AppExchange; Asymbl collaboration) boost product stickiness and go-to-market reach, supporting revenue upside from AI-enabled workflows. AcuityMD Announces AcuityMD for Salesforce on Salesforce AppExchange Asymbl Announces Expanded Collaboration with Salesforce
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and media pieces highlighting expanding AI partnerships and valuation support give investors conviction that Salesforce can monetize agent/AI demand as enterprise spending rebalances. Assessing Salesforce (CRM) Valuation As AI Partnerships Expand And Analyst Support Builds Ahead Of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Company is entering earnings season — recent commentary and previews (Zacks) show mixed odds for a material beat; investors are positioning ahead of the print. Salesforce.com (CRM) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy? Salesforce (CRM) Projected to Post Earnings on Wednesday
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets or moved to neutral/equal-weight (Citigroup lowered to $197 neutral; Wells Fargo cut to $235 equal weight; RBC issued a Hold), which creates headline pressure and reduces near-term analyst-driven demand. Salesforce (CRM) Receives a Hold from RBC Capital Analyst Coverage Changes (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-level AI fears — coverage of a broader “SaaSpocalypse” and weak guidance at peers (Palo Alto Networks) are pressuring software stocks generally and can drag CRM despite company-specific wins. Palo Alto shares sink 8%, CEO defends cybersecurity’s position as AI hits software stocks ServiceNow Insiders Buy as Wall Street Panics Over an AI SaaSpocalypse
• Neutral Sentiment: Checks from UBS point to an uptick in Agentforce but “muted” core growth — mixed operational signals that could lead to a range-bound reaction to the upcoming report. Salesforce in focus as checks show uptick in Agentforce, ‘muted’ core growth: UBS

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.