Adobe Inc. $ADBE Shares Sold by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its Adobe stake by 23.1% in Q3, selling 14,300 shares and leaving it with 47,526 shares valued at about $16.77 million per the latest 13F filing.
• Adobe reported an earnings beat (Q: $5.50 EPS vs. $5.40 est.; revenue $6.19B vs. $6.11B) and set Q1 FY‑2026 guidance of $5.85–$5.90 EPS and FY‑2026 guidance of $23.30–$23.50 EPS, signaling continued profitability.
• Market sentiment is mixed: Adobe deepened a generative‑AI alliance with Cognizant and has some analysts calling it a contrarian buy, but broker downgrades, a consensus "Hold" and a class‑action alleging use of pirated books to train AI models create headline and legal risk.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,526 shares of the software company's stock after selling 14,300 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Adobe were worth $16,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Adobe by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,068 shares of the software company's stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Adobe by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,394 shares of the software company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Adobe by 8.7% in the second quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the software company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Adobe by 17.0% during the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in Adobe by 18.4% during the second quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 605 shares of the software company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Adobe News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe reported an earnings beat and provided FY‑2026 and Q1 guidance that show continued profitability and growth—anchors for longer‑term investors amid the sell‑off.
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe deepened its strategic alliance with Cognizant to accelerate enterprise generative AI adoption, which supports recurring revenue opportunities in large customers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst/commentary pieces argue Adobe is “too cheap to ignore” and a contrarian buy given valuation metrics and long runway, which could attract value‑oriented buyers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages’ consensus remains around a “Hold” rating on Adobe, reflecting mixed views that can limit immediate directional conviction. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlighting a possible short‑squeeze in software names and commentary that beaten‑down software stocks may be attractive suggests potential for episodic rallies, though timing is uncertain. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have started downgrading Adobe amid fears generative AI could erode software revenue or change product economics; at least one firm recently reiterated a Sell—this is weighing heavily on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Sectorwide AI panic and tech‑rout coverage (including pieces warning of job losses and further downside) are driving headline risk and accelerating outflows from software names. Article Title Tom Lee Video
• Negative Sentiment: Adobe faces a class‑action alleging it used pirated books to train AI models—legal risk could create uncertainty and potential costs if suits advance. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADBE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Adobe from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Adobe from $375.00 to $340.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Adobe from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Adobe from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $400.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Adobe from $366.00 to $387.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $401.13.

Adobe Price Performance

ADBE opened at $262.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $319.53 and a 200-day moving average of $335.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Adobe Inc. has a 1-year low of $251.10 and a 1-year high of $465.70.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The software company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.40 by $0.10. Adobe had a return on equity of 61.28% and a net margin of 30.00%.The business had revenue of $6.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Adobe has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 5.850-5.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 23.300-23.500 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 16.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Daniel Durn sold 1,646 shares of Adobe stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total value of $485,323.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,382,225.75. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Adobe Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.