Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Stock Price

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $425.00 to $365.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the software company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 46.40% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ADBE. Barclays downgraded shares of Adobe from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $335.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Adobe from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Adobe from $310.00 to $235.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. HSBC set a $302.00 target price on shares of Adobe in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Adobe from $340.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Adobe has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $347.85.

Adobe Stock Performance

Shares of Adobe stock opened at $249.32 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $283.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.00. The company has a market capitalization of $102.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Adobe has a 52 week low of $244.28 and a 52 week high of $422.95.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The software company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.87 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Adobe had a return on equity of 64.23% and a net margin of 29.48%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.08 earnings per share. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 23.300-23.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 5.800-5.850 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Adobe will post 16.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Adobe news, CFO Daniel Durn sold 1,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total transaction of $485,323.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 41,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,382,225.75. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Adobe

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Adobe by 72.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 27,922 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $9,849,000 after acquiring an additional 11,769 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Adobe by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 9,919 shares of the software company’s stock worth $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 5,293 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Adobe by 185.1% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 898,408 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $316,913,000 after purchasing an additional 583,275 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Adobe by 43.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 106,598 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $38,309,000 after purchasing an additional 32,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Adobe by 112.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,341,410 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $469,467,000 after purchasing an additional 710,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Adobe News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q1 results and AI traction — Adobe posted above‑consensus Q1 revenue and EPS and highlighted rapid AI-first ARR growth; management framed the quarter as an AI‑led acceleration, which supports the company’s long‑term revenue mix and margins. Adobe Delivers Record Q1 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance shows upside but raises questions — Adobe’s FY26 EPS range and Q2 outlook exceeded consensus, yet investors parsed the details (ARR cadence, freemium strategy) for sustainability before rewarding the stock. Adobe Q1 earnings & guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest figures reported inconsistently — publicly posted short data showed anomalous/zero values (NaN/0), so current short‑squeeze risk or bearish positioning is unclear.
• Negative Sentiment: DOJ settlement adds immediate cost and reputational overhang — Adobe agreed to a $150M package (roughly $75M cash + $75M in free services) to resolve claims about hard‑to‑cancel subscriptions, creating a headline liability and consumer‑facing remediation burden. Adobe agrees to pay $150 million to resolve alleged violations
• Negative Sentiment: CEO succession uncertainty — Shantanu Narayen announced he will step down once a successor is named (he will remain board chair), creating near‑term leadership uncertainty at a critical time for Adobe’s AI strategy and execution. Shantanu Narayen Announces Decision to Transition as Adobe’s CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and lower targets amplify selling — Several firms cut price targets or moved to neutral/equal‑weight, citing CEO transition and mixed ARR trends, which pressured sentiment and triggered further mark‑downs. These Analysts Cut Their Forecasts On Adobe Following Q1 Earnings

About Adobe

Adobe Inc, founded in 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke and headquartered in San Jose, California, is a global software company that develops tools and services for creative professionals, marketers and enterprises. Under the leadership of CEO Shantanu Narayen, who has led the company since 2007, Adobe has evolved from a provider of desktop publishing tools into a cloud-centric provider of digital media and digital experience solutions.

The company’s core offerings are organized around digital media and digital experience.