Milestone Asset Management sharply increased its Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) stake during the third quarter, and shares of the customer relationship management software company rallied in mid-October following a Bank of America upgrade, a major United Kingdom government contract, and continued momentum for its enterprise AI products. The stock's gain came as investors weighed the company's plans to generate revenue from enterprise AI products.

Milestone lifts Salesforce stake

Milestone held 13,197 Salesforce shares valued at $3.03 million as of September 30, according to a Form 13F filed on October 15. The firm purchased 8,655 shares during the quarter, raising its position by 190.6% from 4,542 shares at the end of the previous quarter.

Form 13Fs are quarterly filings that institutional investment managers submit to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, recording ownership as of quarter-end. Such filings do not explain the reasoning behind purchases, and they cannot confirm whether Milestone has adjusted its position since September 30.

Stock gains after rating change

Bank of America analyst Tal Liani upgraded Salesforce from Underperform to Buy on October 12, lifting his price target from $160 to $285. The analyst cited the company's AI strategy and its established customer relationships. The new target sits roughly 15% above Thursday's closing price, and the revision itself lifts the target by about 78%. Analyst price targets represent a single firm's estimate, are typically framed against the coming year, and are revised as new results and conditions emerge.

CRM stock closed Thursday at $246.74, up 4.57%, after reaching $247.18 intraday. The advance followed an earlier Salesforce stock recovery tied to the revised rating. The day's trading performance stands apart from quarter-end ownership data such as Milestone's filing.

UK contract and AI sales tools

On October 15, Salesforce announced an agreement with HM Revenue & Customs, Britain's tax authority. The contract could reach £2 billion over 15 years and covers services for more than 39 million citizens and businesses. A potential £2 billion value stretched across a 15-year horizon makes the deal a long-duration public-sector commitment, embedding Salesforce software in day-to-day tax services used by tens of millions of people and businesses.

ZoomInfo also confirmed a data partnership for Hunter, Salesforce's new sales agent. Hunter combines customer records with outside information to identify prospects and prepare outreach, and Salesforce expects wider availability later this year. That rollout gives the company's agent lineup a near-term milestone for tracking real-world adoption.

The Kobeissi Letter, an account followed by about 2.7 million people on X, reported that 42 AI stocks have generated 67% of S&P 500 gains since 2024. Those figures provide context for AI-led market concentration, not an indication of Salesforce's future performance.

Questions remain over AI revenue

Salesforce reported more than $1.5 billion in annual recurring revenue for Agentforce, its suite of autonomous AI agents for service and sales workflows, in its latest quarterly results. Investors continue to watch whether enterprise adoption of the products translates into higher sales and profits. Annual recurring revenue — the annualized value of active subscriptions — is the metric through which that debate is being measured, and Salesforce's next quarterly report along with the wider Hunter rollout expected later this year are the nearest points at fresh adoption data will become public.

The debate is playing out amid broader concerns about AI chip supplies. New York Fed President John Williams said demand could outpace supply for more than two years, though he was discussing hardware rather than Salesforce software.