Ballast Inc. Boosts Holdings in Salesforce Amid AI Opportunity Concerns
Ballast Inc., an investment firm, increased its stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 54% during the second quarter, according to a recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The company now owns 9,737 shares of Salesforce's stock, which are valued at $1,525,000.
This is not an isolated incident, as other institutional investors have also been buying into Salesforce. Brighton Jones LLC, for example, boosted its position in the CRM provider by 13.7% during the fourth quarter and now owns 25,668 shares worth $8,582,000.
UBS Group has a neutral rating on Salesforce but raised its price target from $185 to $210. The company's AI opportunity may not translate into faster near-term sales growth, according to UBS' revenue growth outlook. However, some analysts remain optimistic about the stock's potential, with two investment firms upgrading their ratings recently.
Salesforce has been facing challenges in recent times, including a decline in its stock price and concerns over leadership changes and the company's positioning in sensitive government AI workloads. Despite these issues, the CRM provider reported strong earnings per share of $3.88 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate by $0.75.