Analysts Stay Constructive on Salesforce (CRM) Despite Sector Weakness

Core Viewpoint - Salesforce Inc. is considered a leading machine learning stock, despite recent price target reductions and a cautious outlook from analysts regarding the software sector [1][2]. Group 1: Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Piper Sandler analyst Billy Fitzsimmons reduced the price target for Salesforce from $315 to $280 while maintaining an Outperform rating [1]. - The consensus 1-year median price target for Salesforce is $330, indicating a potential upside of nearly 71% as of February 10 [4]. Group 2: Market Performance and Sector Outlook - Salesforce's stock has experienced a decline of approximately 27% since the beginning of 2026 and over 40% in the past year, reflecting broader concerns about AI's impact on traditional software companies [3]. - Piper Sandler's cautious outlook on the software sector suggests that "seat-compression and vibe coding narratives could set a ceiling on multiples," leading to a focus on hyperscalers and vertical sub-sectors instead [2]. Group 3: Company Overview - Salesforce Inc. is a global enterprise software company specializing in customer relationship management (CRM) and cloud-based business applications, including sales, service, marketing, commerce, and data analytics [5]. - The company's Customer 360 platform utilizes data tools and trusted AI to help organizations unify customer data and enhance personalized engagement [5].