Salesforce Inc. (CRM) had a pretty good Wednesday. The company got a Wall Street vote of confidence while simultaneously landing one of those partnerships that actually means something.

The Analyst Take

BTIG analyst Allan Verkhovski kicked off coverage on Salesforce with a Buy rating and a $335 price target. That's a solid endorsement, giving the stock about 29% upside from where it's trading now.

The Novartis Deal

Here's where it gets interesting. Novartis announced it's deploying Salesforce's Agentforce Life Sciences platform to handle communications between patients and healthcare professionals. The goal is to simplify interactions so teams can spend less time on administrative busywork and more time on strategic, meaningful engagement.

This isn't just a pilot program. Novartis plans to build on its existing Salesforce infrastructure by unifying engagement across marketing, sales, patient services, medical, market access, and other functions. Over the next five years, the pharmaceutical giant will roll out Agentforce 360 for Life Sciences globally, aiming to create more integrated, AI-powered customer experiences with compliance and insights baked in.

"The expanded partnership with Novartis underscores our commitment to transforming how the life sciences industry engages with marketing, sales, and medical stakeholders," said Frank Defesche, general manager of Life Sciences at Salesforce. "By unifying engagement on Agentforce Life Sciences, we're providing the foundation for more personal, accurate, and connected experiences. This collaboration is ultimately about getting the right therapies to the patients that need them."

Market Reaction

Salesforce shares rose 1.71% to $259.32 on Wednesday, a respectable bump given the combination of analyst optimism and real business momentum.