Analysis of the Most Hated Stocks in the Market
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 22 2026
0mins
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Market Sentiment: Two stocks are currently among the most hated in the market, indicating strong investor concerns about their future performance, which could lead to further declines in stock prices and affect overall investment confidence.
- AI and Wealth Creation: A report suggests that AI technology may create the world's first trillionaire, highlighting the significance of technology in the future economy and potentially attracting investor interest in related tech stocks.
- Salesforce Investment Warning: Despite Salesforce's market presence, the analyst team has excluded it from the current list of the top 10 best stocks to buy, advising investors to be cautious and avoid potential losses.
- Investment Return Comparison: According to Motley Fool, the average return of Stock Advisor is 994%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 207%, demonstrating the importance of stock selection, and investors should pay attention to these recommendations for higher returns.
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Analyst Views on CRM
Wall Street analysts forecast CRM stock price to rise
39 Analyst Rating
29 Buy
9 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 176.170
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
Current: 176.170
Low
223.00
Averages
326.40
High
405.00
About CRM
Salesforce, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) technology company. Its artificial intelligence (AI) powered Agentforce 360 Platform offers sales, service, marketing, commerce, collaboration, data management, integration, analytics, and information technology (IT) service solutions. It enables customers to build and deploy digital labor for employees and customers, leveraging autonomous AI agents across business functions. Its service offerings include Agentforce Sales, Agentforce Service, Agentforce 360 Platform, Slack and Others. The Agentforce Sales provides sales capabilities and tools built for organizations across prospecting, sales engagement, team collaboration, sales analytics and AI, sales programs, sales performance, partner management, and revenue and orders. The Agentforce Service provides field service solutions that enable companies to connect service agents, dispatchers and mobile employees through platform to schedule, dispatch and manage jobs.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Revenue Growth: Salesforce reported Q1 revenue of $11.13 billion for Fiscal 2027, slightly exceeding analyst expectations of $11.05 billion, with a year-over-year increase of 13%, indicating potential in the AI sector.
- Earnings Performance: The adjusted earnings per share of $3.88 significantly surpassed the market's expectation of $3.12, demonstrating improved profitability, although the overall market reaction remained subdued.
- Guidance Outlook: Despite a strong Q1, the company's revenue guidance for the next quarter is projected between $11.27 billion and $11.35 billion, slightly below the $11.36 billion analysts anticipated, reflecting cautious sentiment about future growth.
- AI Potential: Annual recurring revenue from Agentforce surged by 205% to $1.2 billion, yet analysts remain skeptical about Salesforce's ability to maintain competitiveness in an AI-driven market landscape.
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- Earnings Beat Expectations: Out of 12 notable companies reporting this week, 11 exceeded Wall Street's EPS expectations, indicating robust profitability across sectors, with only one firm falling short, reflecting overall market health.
- Salesforce's Strong Performance: Salesforce reported a fiscal Q1 2027 EPS of $3.88, a 50% year-over-year increase, and raised its full-year revenue guidance to $46.05 billion; however, shares fell approximately 3% in after-hours trading due to a weaker Q2 outlook.
- Dell's Record Revenue: Dell Technologies achieved a record Q1 revenue of $43.8 billion, an 88% year-over-year increase, and raised its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to $165 billion to $169 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $142.12 billion, showcasing strong market demand.
- AutoZone's Robust Results: AutoZone announced a Q1 GAAP EPS of $38.07, beating expectations by $1.90, with a 16.6% increase in same-store sales internationally, indicating the company's sustained competitiveness in the retail market.
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- Tech Stock Surge: Snowflake's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations and included a $6 billion AI compute deal with Amazon, leading to a more than 36% single-day stock price increase, which reignited enthusiasm across the tech sector and boosted stocks like Dell and Broadcom significantly.
- Cybersecurity Stock Volatility: Zscaler's disappointing earnings report resulted in its worst single-day performance, negatively impacting peers CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks; however, Okta's strong earnings report led to a 30% stock price jump, indicating ongoing demand in the cybersecurity sector.
- Middle East Situation's Market Impact: Despite mixed signals from the Middle East, rumors of peace progress between Iran and the U.S. spurred market gains, although the White House dismissed the reports, investor optimism still supported the stock market's upward trajectory.
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- Stock Price Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven world, which may weaken investor confidence and future funding capabilities.
- Threat of AI Technology: The rise of agentic AI poses a risk of obsolescence for traditional SaaS companies, particularly those reliant on outdated technologies, as increased efficiency could lead to reduced customer demand, impacting revenue stability.
- Platform Advantages: ServiceNow's Control Tower and Palantir's AI platform provide clients with unified AI management solutions, enhancing customer dependency on their platforms; despite a challenging market environment, both companies demonstrate strong growth potential.
- Valuation Pressure: Although ServiceNow and Palantir are high-growth and profitable companies, their price-to-earnings ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, limit investor buying interest, indicating that investment risks remain under current market conditions.
See More
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- SaaS Stock Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir Technologies have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven landscape, leading to diminished investor confidence and impacting company valuations.
- Rise of Agentic AI: Agentic AI renders many functions of SaaS software redundant, allowing clients to automate data analysis and marketing campaigns, thereby reducing demand for traditional SaaS subscriptions and affecting long-term revenue models.
- Transformation Challenges: Although ServiceNow and Palantir have made strides in AI, their legacy business models face challenges, particularly as older technology SaaS companies may lose market share during the transition, impacting their competitive edge.
- Valuation Risks: Despite demonstrating strong growth potential, ServiceNow and Palantir trade at trailing P/E ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, indicating that even at lower price points, investors should carefully assess their future investment return potential.
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US Stock Indices Reach All-Time Highs Amid Positive Economic Signals
- Strong Market Performance: The S&P 500 rose by 0.22%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.72%, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed by 0.36%, with all three indices reaching new all-time highs, reflecting market confidence in economic recovery.
- Tech Stocks Lead Gains: Dell Technologies surged 32% after reporting Q1 total revenue of $43.84 billion, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $35.52 billion, and raised its 2027 revenue forecast to between $165 billion and $169 billion, indicating strong market demand and growth potential.
- Positive Economic Data: The May Chicago PMI rose by 13.5 to 62.7, far surpassing expectations of 50.3, marking the fastest expansion pace in 4.25 years, which further bolstered market confidence in stocks.
- Oil Price Decline Benefits Stocks: Crude oil prices fell over 1% to a five-week low due to a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran, easing inflation concerns and supporting the upward trend in the stock market.
See More
Salesforce Q1 Results Exceed Expectations Amid AI Concerns
- Revenue Growth: Salesforce reported Q1 revenue of $11.13 billion for Fiscal 2027, slightly exceeding analyst expectations of $11.05 billion, with a year-over-year increase of 13%, indicating potential in the AI sector.
- Earnings Performance: The adjusted earnings per share of $3.88 significantly surpassed the market's expectation of $3.12, demonstrating improved profitability, although the overall market reaction remained subdued.
- Guidance Outlook: Despite a strong Q1, the company's revenue guidance for the next quarter is projected between $11.27 billion and $11.35 billion, slightly below the $11.36 billion analysts anticipated, reflecting cautious sentiment about future growth.
- AI Potential: Annual recurring revenue from Agentforce surged by 205% to $1.2 billion, yet analysts remain skeptical about Salesforce's ability to maintain competitiveness in an AI-driven market landscape.
See More
Earnings Week: Strong Performance in Tech and Consumer Sectors
- Earnings Beat Expectations: Out of 12 notable companies reporting this week, 11 exceeded Wall Street's EPS expectations, indicating robust profitability across sectors, with only one firm falling short, reflecting overall market health.
- Salesforce's Strong Performance: Salesforce reported a fiscal Q1 2027 EPS of $3.88, a 50% year-over-year increase, and raised its full-year revenue guidance to $46.05 billion; however, shares fell approximately 3% in after-hours trading due to a weaker Q2 outlook.
- Dell's Record Revenue: Dell Technologies achieved a record Q1 revenue of $43.8 billion, an 88% year-over-year increase, and raised its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to $165 billion to $169 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $142.12 billion, showcasing strong market demand.
- AutoZone's Robust Results: AutoZone announced a Q1 GAAP EPS of $38.07, beating expectations by $1.90, with a 16.6% increase in same-store sales internationally, indicating the company's sustained competitiveness in the retail market.
See More
Stocks Hit Record Highs Again, Driven by Tech Gains
- Market Performance: Last week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose over 1% and 2%, respectively, marking the S&P 500's ninth consecutive week of gains and the Nasdaq's eighth out of the last nine weeks, reflecting strong investor confidence in the market.
- Tech Stock Surge: Snowflake's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations and included a $6 billion AI compute deal with Amazon, leading to a more than 36% single-day stock price increase, which reignited enthusiasm across the tech sector and boosted stocks like Dell and Broadcom significantly.
- Cybersecurity Stock Volatility: Zscaler's disappointing earnings report resulted in its worst single-day performance, negatively impacting peers CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks; however, Okta's strong earnings report led to a 30% stock price jump, indicating ongoing demand in the cybersecurity sector.
- Middle East Situation's Market Impact: Despite mixed signals from the Middle East, rumors of peace progress between Iran and the U.S. spurred market gains, although the White House dismissed the reports, investor optimism still supported the stock market's upward trajectory.
See More
Impact Analysis of AI on SaaS Companies
- Stock Price Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven world, which may weaken investor confidence and future funding capabilities.
- Threat of AI Technology: The rise of agentic AI poses a risk of obsolescence for traditional SaaS companies, particularly those reliant on outdated technologies, as increased efficiency could lead to reduced customer demand, impacting revenue stability.
- Platform Advantages: ServiceNow's Control Tower and Palantir's AI platform provide clients with unified AI management solutions, enhancing customer dependency on their platforms; despite a challenging market environment, both companies demonstrate strong growth potential.
- Valuation Pressure: Although ServiceNow and Palantir are high-growth and profitable companies, their price-to-earnings ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, limit investor buying interest, indicating that investment risks remain under current market conditions.
See More
The Reality of AI Threatening SaaS Companies
- SaaS Stock Decline: ServiceNow and Palantir Technologies have seen their stock prices drop by 33% and 23%, respectively, reflecting market concerns about the viability of traditional SaaS models in an AI-driven landscape, leading to diminished investor confidence and impacting company valuations.
- Rise of Agentic AI: Agentic AI renders many functions of SaaS software redundant, allowing clients to automate data analysis and marketing campaigns, thereby reducing demand for traditional SaaS subscriptions and affecting long-term revenue models.
- Transformation Challenges: Although ServiceNow and Palantir have made strides in AI, their legacy business models face challenges, particularly as older technology SaaS companies may lose market share during the transition, impacting their competitive edge.
- Valuation Risks: Despite demonstrating strong growth potential, ServiceNow and Palantir trade at trailing P/E ratios of 61 and 154, respectively, indicating that even at lower price points, investors should carefully assess their future investment return potential.
See More
US Stock Indices Reach All-Time Highs Amid Positive Economic Signals
- Strong Market Performance: The S&P 500 rose by 0.22%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.72%, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed by 0.36%, with all three indices reaching new all-time highs, reflecting market confidence in economic recovery.
- Tech Stocks Lead Gains: Dell Technologies surged 32% after reporting Q1 total revenue of $43.84 billion, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $35.52 billion, and raised its 2027 revenue forecast to between $165 billion and $169 billion, indicating strong market demand and growth potential.
- Positive Economic Data: The May Chicago PMI rose by 13.5 to 62.7, far surpassing expectations of 50.3, marking the fastest expansion pace in 4.25 years, which further bolstered market confidence in stocks.
- Oil Price Decline Benefits Stocks: Crude oil prices fell over 1% to a five-week low due to a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran, easing inflation concerns and supporting the upward trend in the stock market.
See More
