By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK Salesforce Inc's stock jumped by about 10% on Thursday to a nearly two-year high after the U.S. cloud and business software company reported stellar third quarter results underpinned by strong demand for its services.

Salesforce's revenue of $8.72 billion and adjusted profit of $2.11 per share beat Wall Street expectations, the company reported after the closing bell on Wednesday. It also forecast fourth quarter revenue to reach between $9.18 billion and $9.23 billion, and adjusted profit to range from $2.25 to $2.26 per share, higher than analyst estimates.

Shares of Salesforce climbed 9.6% to as high as $252.50, hitting their highest level since January 2022 and on track for the biggest daily percent gain since March this year.

The stock was last up about 7%, adding approximately $16 billion to Salesforce's market capitalization. With Thursday's move, the stock has now gained about 87% year-to-date and is on course for its best yearly performance since 2009.

Multiple analysts, including from Morgan Stanley, Evercore, Wells Fargo, and Deutsche Bank, raised their price target for Salesforce's shares following the results.

The current median price target of the 48 analysts covering Salesforce is now $275, up from $257.50 a month ago, and their current recommendation is "buy," according to LSEG data.

"Salesforce represents a top AI (artificial intelligence) opportunity," said BofA Global Research analysts led by Brad Sills in an investor note, adding that they are more confident the company is on the "path back to sustained mid-teens subscription growth."

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Lance Tupper and Nick Zieminski)