NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2025, 5:08 p.m. ET — Market Closed
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) enters the final stretch of 2025 with investors weighing two competing narratives: accelerating monetization from its AI agent platform (Agentforce) and a fresh wave of headlines questioning how “ready” large language models (LLMs) are for mission-critical enterprise workflows.
With U.S. stock markets closed for the weekend, Salesforce shares were last quoted around $266.08, up about 0.3% from the prior close, based on the latest available market data. [1]
The next key test comes when trading resumes on Monday, Dec. 29, when investors will parse whether weekend newsflow shifts sentiment heading into a thin, year-end tape and the remaining days of the “Santa Claus rally” window closely watched on Wall Street. [2]
Salesforce stock price: where CRM stood at the close and after-hours
Salesforce’s most recent closing print was $266.08 (Friday’s close), with an after-hours indication around $265.98 later that evening. [3]
That matters heading into Monday because extended-hours price action—especially during the holiday period—can sometimes amplify headlines and positioning rather than reflect deep institutional conviction.
Regular trading on the NYSE runs 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. [4]
Broader market backdrop: Wall Street near highs, but holiday volume can exaggerate moves
Salesforce is also trading into a broader market setup that’s been supportive for large-cap tech and growth. On Friday, Wall Street finished a light post-Christmas session nearly unchanged, and strategists noted that seasonal patterns can create an “upward bias” into early January—though thin liquidity can cut both ways. [5]
As Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, put it in comments reported by Reuters, the market had been “catching our breath” after a strong rally, with investors watching the remaining days of the Santa Claus rally period. [6]
Biggest Salesforce headlines in the last 24–48 hours: AI trust, “deterministic” guardrails, and partner expansion
1) New reporting flags “trust” issues with LLMs—Salesforce shifts emphasis toward predictable automation
One of the most widely circulated weekend storylines for Salesforce is renewed debate over how reliably LLM-based systems can execute business tasks without drifting, omitting instructions, or making inconsistent decisions.
In a report published Saturday, India Today said Salesforce is scaling back reliance on LLMs after encountering reliability issues, highlighting a pivot toward more “deterministic” automation—systems designed to behave predictably and consistently rather than probabilistically. [7]
The article attributes remarks to Sanjna Parulekar, Salesforce’s Senior Vice President of Product Marketing, saying confidence in LLMs has declined compared with a year earlier, and it cites operational examples of why enterprises may demand stronger guardrails. [8]
India Today also described comments attributed to Muralidhar Krishnaprasad, identified as the Agentforce CTO, about models omitting directives when given too many instructions—an issue that, if widespread, could reinforce why enterprise buyers insist on governance layers and rule-based controls around generative systems. [9]
Why it matters for CRM stock: the AI “agent” narrative has become central to Salesforce’s growth expectations and valuation debate. If investors conclude that agent deployments are slower, more services-heavy, or more error-prone than the bull case assumes, near-term multiple expansion can be harder to sustain—even if long-term demand remains intact.
2) Salesforce opens broader platform-building options to partners (ISVs) for apps and AI agents
On the more constructive side of the ledger, ChannelE2E reported Friday that Salesforce has expanded what partners can build and commercialize—allowing them to create, white-label, and distribute custom apps and AI agents across Salesforce platforms (including Agentforce offerings) with new commercial and operational options. [10]
The ChannelE2E piece included commentary from Shelly Kramer, founder and principal analyst at Kramer&Co., who framed the move as more than a feature update—arguing it’s a platform-level shift that could strengthen Salesforce’s ecosystem advantage in an era when model access is increasingly commoditized. [11]
Why it matters for CRM stock: investors often treat platform ecosystem depth (partners, apps, data gravity, distribution) as a “moat” in enterprise software. If Salesforce’s expanded partner tooling accelerates industry-specific AI agents that run natively on Salesforce, it can help the company defend share against cloud and AI rivals while also diversifying monetization beyond core CRM seats. [12]
3) Fresh institutional and insider-focused headlines hit the tape Friday
Even during holiday weeks, filings and automated summaries can shape the narrative—especially when they highlight insider buying or large ownership shifts.
MarketBeat published multiple CRM-related updates Friday tied to institutional holdings disclosures, including:
- A report that Private Trust Co. NA reduced its position in Salesforce, based on a 13F filing referenced in the piece. [13]
- Separate coverage noting VCI Wealth Management increased its position, also tied to reported filings. [14]
- An item discussing Regent Peak Wealth Advisors activity and summarizing several analyst price-target changes and consensus metrics (as presented by MarketBeat). [15]
MarketBeat’s summaries also highlighted recent insider transactions it links to SEC disclosures—most notably director G. Mason Morfit’s purchase of 96,000 shares earlier in December at around $260.58 per share (as presented in the MarketBeat reports), alongside references to CEO Marc Benioff sales earlier in the quarter. [16]
Why it matters for CRM stock: investors track insider buying because it can signal confidence—especially when it’s large and open-market. At the same time, it’s important to separate “insider signal” from “near-term catalyst”: these transactions don’t necessarily predict Monday’s direction, but they can influence how investors frame valuation and downside support.
The bigger Salesforce thesis: Agentforce monetization is real, but execution and trust are the swing factors
While the last 48 hours brought debate over reliability, Salesforce’s most concrete datapoints on AI monetization remain tied to its latest quarterly cycle.
In early December, Salesforce raised fiscal 2026 revenue and adjusted profit forecasts, citing enterprise demand and momentum in AI agents. In that report, Reuters quoted CEO Marc Benioff saying Agentforce and Data 360 were nearing $1.4 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR), and it said Agentforce ARR surpassed half a billion dollars in the third quarter. [17]
Reuters also quoted Rebecca Wettemann, CEO of analyst firm Valoir, who said that raising guidance signaled confidence in converting customers experimenting with Agentforce into buyers. [18]
Taken together, the setup for CRM investors into 2026 looks less like “does AI matter?” and more like:
- How quickly can Salesforce scale AI agents from pilots to broad rollouts?
- How much professional services, customization, and governance is required?
- Do reliability concerns slow adoption—or do they increase demand for Salesforce’s “trusted” approach because it pairs AI with enterprise data, controls, and workflows? [19]
Analyst forecasts and price targets: what Wall Street implies for CRM over the next year
Across Wall Street, Salesforce remains widely covered—and current consensus targets still point to upside from recent levels, though dispersion is large.
According to StockAnalysis’ compiled analyst data, Salesforce carries a consensus “Buy” rating, with an average price target around $324 and a cited target range spanning roughly $221 to $405. [20]
StockAnalysis also lists notable recent targets, including a $335 target tied to BTIG analyst Allan Verkhovski (as shown on its page). [21]
Separately, a Barron’s column earlier this week argued the market may be overly bearish on Salesforce’s AI outlook and cited BTIG’s Verkhovski saying valuation implies some investors are “pricing in” an overly negative scenario—while the debate over Agentforce execution continues. [22]
What investors should take from the target math:
- The Street still largely believes Salesforce can re-accelerate enough—through a mix of AI monetization, platform expansion, and margin discipline—to justify meaningfully higher levels over a 12-month horizon. [23]
- But the wide target range is a reminder that execution risk is real, and the market is still calibrating how durable “agent” revenue is versus traditional subscription growth. [24]
What investors should know before the next session
With the exchange closed, the most practical “pre-open” preparation for CRM holders is understanding which headlines are likely to move sentiment at Monday’s open—and which are more noise than signal.
Here are the key items to watch:
- AI reliability headlines and follow-through
Stories emphasizing LLM unpredictability can pressure “AI premium” narratives across enterprise software. For Salesforce specifically, watch whether the conversation shifts from “Agentforce growth” to “Agentforce friction,” including governance, guardrails, and services intensity. [25] - Partner ecosystem adoption signals
If Salesforce’s newly expanded partner building and commercialization options translate into concrete partner launches (apps, agents, marketplace traction), that strengthens the ecosystem moat argument. [26] - Institutional/insider context—don’t overread it, but don’t ignore it
The newest filing-driven headlines point both directions (some holders trimming, others adding) and highlight notable insider activity cited in those summaries. Treat it as context for ownership and sentiment—not a one-day catalyst. [27] - Year-end liquidity and positioning
Late-December trading can feature thinner liquidity, headline sensitivity, and portfolio rebalancing. Reuters’ Friday recap underscored how little it can take to move major indexes in post-holiday trading. [28] - Know your timing around dividends
Some MarketBeat summaries reference Salesforce’s quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share with a January payment date; however, the ex-dividend date cited in those same summaries is already in the past—so buying now would not capture the most recently declared dividend. [29]
Bottom line for Salesforce stock going into Monday
Salesforce (CRM) heads into the next session with shares holding near the mid-$260s, supported by the company’s push to monetize AI agents and expand its partner ecosystem—while also facing renewed scrutiny over the real-world reliability of LLM-driven automation in enterprise settings. [30]
For investors, Monday’s key question likely won’t be whether AI is the future of CRM—it will be whether the weekend’s “trust and reliability” headlines create a speed bump for near-term sentiment, or whether the market views Salesforce’s emphasis on deterministic controls and ecosystem distribution as the exact discipline enterprises want as AI agents scale. [31]
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. stockanalysis.com, 4. www.nyse.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.indiatoday.in, 8. www.indiatoday.in, 9. www.indiatoday.in, 10. www.channele2e.com, 11. www.channele2e.com, 12. www.channele2e.com, 13. www.marketbeat.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.marketbeat.com, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.indiatoday.in, 20. stockanalysis.com, 21. stockanalysis.com, 22. www.barrons.com, 23. stockanalysis.com, 24. stockanalysis.com, 25. www.indiatoday.in, 26. www.channele2e.com, 27. www.marketbeat.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.marketbeat.com, 30. www.indiatoday.in, 31. www.indiatoday.in
