Salesforce (CRM) shares took a hit Thursday after KeyBanc downgraded the cloud software giant, saying the near-term outlook looks cloudy at best.
KeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader moved Salesforce to Sector Weight from Overweight, and his reasoning was blunt: aside from the stock's valuation, there's not much to get excited about. Ader wrote that it's "difficult to find evidence" of meaningful future upside, pointing to disappointing recent quarterly results and soft channel checks. Feedback from Agentforce customer events suggests the product still needs more work before it can drive growth.
The analyst also said expectations for faster revenue growth, current remaining performance obligations (cRPO), and bookings look hard to justify right now.
The downgrade came a day after Salesforce announced a new federal contract — the U.S. Air Force's 441st Vehicle Support Chain Operations Squadron will use Salesforce Missionforce National Security to manage its $13.5 billion fleet of more than 84,000 vehicles. The company said the platform will modernize fleet management and improve readiness, expanding its defense footprint. But the news wasn't enough to change the analyst's mind.
On the technical side, things aren't looking great either. Salesforce shares are trading about 23% below their 200-day moving average and roughly 6% below the 50-day. While the stock is slightly above its 20-day average, that hasn't reversed the broader downtrend. The relative strength index sits at 46.3 — neutral territory, meaning the stock isn't overbought or oversold, but momentum isn't strong either.
Traders are watching resistance near $187.50 and support around $146.50, close to the 52-week low. At publication time, Salesforce shares were down 2.09% at $163.10.
