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On Thursday, KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained its optimistic stance on Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM), reaffirming an Overweight rating and a $440.00 price target for the company’s shares. The endorsement comes despite acknowledging some mixed results in the company’s recent performance metrics. According to InvestingPro data, Salesforce maintains impressive gross profit margins of 76.94% and boasts a perfect Piotroski Score of 9, indicating strong financial health.
Salesforce’s constant currency subscription revenue guidance for fiscal year 2026 met KeyBanc’s expectations of approximately 9%, aligning with the company’s current revenue growth rate of 9.53%. While the company’s current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) surpassed projections, the surrounding metrics indicated that these achievements were not as substantial as they might seem. The attention was largely focused on Agentforce, a newer addition to Salesforce’s offerings, which has gained considerable traction with 3,000 paid customers already on board.
Despite the success of Agentforce, concerns have been raised about its impact on the sales cycles of Salesforce’s core cloud services. KeyBanc analysts noted from ecosystem conversations that there might be a risk of Agentforce extending the sales cycles for Salesforce’s Sales, Service, and Marketing & Commerce Clouds, which all fell short of KeyBanc’s expectations. The company did not address these concerns directly, instead highlighting the quarter as the best ever for Agentforce.
KeyBanc’s continued Overweight rating hinges on the expectation that Salesforce will see fundamental improvements throughout the year. The firm remains confident in the company’s potential for growth and believes that the core cloud services will need to align with the momentum of Agentforce to fully realize the high expectations set for it. The price target reiteration reflects KeyBanc’s anticipation of Salesforce’s performance strengthening as the year progresses. For a comprehensive analysis of Salesforce’s valuation and growth prospects, including 12 additional exclusive ProTips, check out the detailed research report available on InvestingPro.
In other recent news, Salesforce.com reported fourth-quarter fiscal year 2025 results that exceeded profit expectations due to increased operational efficiency, with revenue performance aligning with forecasts when adjusted for currency fluctuations. The company’s Data Cloud and Artificial Intelligence Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) experienced a significant year-over-year growth of approximately 120%, reaching nearly $900 million. Despite this strong performance, Salesforce’s fiscal year 2026 guidance was more conservative, reflecting potential challenges such as a recent change in the Chief Financial Officer and modest contributions expected from its Agentforce product.
Analysts have varied perspectives on Salesforce’s outlook. Needham maintained a Buy rating with a $400 price target, while Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James adjusted its price target to $375, keeping a Strong Buy rating. DA Davidson revised its price target down to $275, retaining a Neutral rating, citing challenges in certain segments and a projected slowdown in revenue growth. Evercore ISI maintained an Outperform rating with a $420 target, highlighting the company’s potential for revenue acceleration later in the fiscal year.
Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $400 target, expressing optimism about Salesforce’s growth trajectory and potential improvements in margins. The company closed 3,000 paid deals for its Agentforce platform in the quarter, which could positively impact broader platform adoption. Analysts noted Salesforce’s efforts to enhance operational efficiencies and its strategic focus on AI technologies as key factors in its recent performance and future growth potential.
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