Salesforce shares rise after Bank of America doubles its upgrade

what happened

Salesforce shares rose 2% in Monday morning trading on October 12 after Bank of America, according to gurufocus.com, upgraded the stock to Buy from Underperform. The bank also raised its price target from $160 to $285.

The move came alongside Salesforce’s plan to acquire analytics startup Loops. The company uses machine learning to assess business performance, explain changes in key metrics and find potential opportunities. Salesforce plans to incorporate Loops’ technology into Tableau, its data-visualization and analytics platform.

Bank of America analyst Tal Liani expects large enterprises to keep established systems for data, workflows and compliance as they adopt AI tools. In his view, broader AI use could support demand for Salesforce’s existing software platforms instead of displacing them.

The growth outlook is still uncertain. Slower customer adoption of AI could postpone the expected financial benefits, while AI-related revenue remains small relative to Salesforce’s overall business. Investors will be watching whether the company’s expanding AI offering leads to stronger sales growth.

why it matters

The market focus is whether Salesforce can turn AI expansion into growth through its existing platforms and the planned Loops acquisition. Bank of America’s upgrade contrasts with uncertainty over adoption speed and the timing of financial benefits.

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