Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) shares climbed 1.90% intraday after J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with a bullish rating and a new price target.
Analyst Samik Chatterjee assigned CRM an Overweight rating and established a December 2027 price target of $250, moving the stock from Not Rated.
Chatterjee argued that concerns about AI disrupting enterprise software and intensifying competitive dynamics are “overblown” and unlikely to derail the company’s trajectory.
He said his favorable view is underpinned by “an expected acceleration in the core business in 2HF27,” referring to the half-year period ending January 2027.
Chatterjee also noted that fears about disruption from frontier AI models and competition “should be limited to a small portion of the business,” reducing the perceived threat to Salesforce’s core operations.
The analyst believes the current stock price reflects investor fears that Salesforce’s growth will continue to slow, arguing that the market is overlooking a potential recovery in momentum.
Chatterjee pointed specifically to the possibility that Salesforce could return to its long-term Rule of 50 goal, a measure showing that a firm’s combined growth and profitability percentage has reached 50 or higher.
His valuation case holds that the market has priced in more deceleration than is warranted, meaning the upside depends on a re-rating tied to when revenue growth actually accelerates.
Chatterjee described Agentforce as “crucial” to Salesforce’s future prospects as the broader software sector moves toward autonomous agent technology.
He also identified Data 360 and Headless 360 as additional key drivers of growth that investors should monitor closely in coming quarters.
Salesforce’s fiscal second-quarter results, due August 26, represent the next significant test for the bull case J.P. Morgan has laid out.
The bank anticipates that Q2 results will provide further evidence of an upturn in core growth, with revenue guidance centered at $11.31 billion.
That figure sits approximately $50 million, or 0.4%, below the consensus estimate, meaning even a modest beat could be enough to shift near-term sentiment positively.
Other Wall Street firms also updated their views on CRM, with UBS lifting its price target to $210 from $185 while maintaining a Neutral rating.
Wells Fargo raised its target to $205 from $200, and Stifel reiterated its Buy rating with a $250 price target, aligning with J.P. Morgan’s outlook.
Despite the analyst optimism, Salesforce stock remains down 27% year to date, reflecting the broader investor skepticism that Chatterjee believes creates the current opportunity.
