Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Position in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management reduced its Adobe stake by 39.3% in the first quarter, selling 754,088 shares and ending with 1,163,479 shares valued at about $282.8 million.
• Adobe reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.96 versus $5.82 estimated and revenue of $6.62 billion versus $6.45 billion expected, while also issuing FY 2026 guidance above current analyst expectations.
• The company authorized a $25 billion stock buyback, and analysts remain cautious overall with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $278.16.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 39.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,163,479 shares of the software company's stock after selling 754,088 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.29% of Adobe worth $282,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADBE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Adobe during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,275,165,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Adobe by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,617,145 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,981,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952,994 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 8,006.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,593,506 shares of the software company's stock valued at $562,109,000 after buying an additional 1,573,849 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,587,399 shares of the software company's stock valued at $912,705,000 after buying an additional 920,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Adobe by 17.9% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 4,888,283 shares of the software company's stock worth $1,711,583,000 after buying an additional 742,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Adobe Stock Performance

Adobe stock opened at $196.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $78.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $238.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Adobe Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.12 and a 12 month high of $392.58.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The software company reported $5.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Adobe had a net margin of 28.69% and a return on equity of 65.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.06 earnings per share. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.350-24.450 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.100 EPS. Research analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 19.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software company to repurchase up to 24.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Adobe from $447.00 to $379.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Adobe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Adobe from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Adobe from $270.00 to $245.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, June 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $278.16.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In related news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.54, for a total transaction of $18,265,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 359,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,561,884.52. This represents a 17.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.25, for a total transaction of $185,918.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,046.25. This trade represents a 17.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,091 shares of company stock valued at $18,782,773 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Key Adobe News

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe Analytics said first-day U.S. online spending for Amazon Prime Day reached $8.3 billion, and it raised its estimate for total four-day retail-event spending to $26.3 billion, up 9% year over year. That supports Adobe’s analytics franchise and reinforces its visibility into consumer commerce trends. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces argued the recent selloff may be overdone, calling Adobe undervalued or “priced for too much bad news.” One model projected a rebound toward $253 in one quarter and $231 in two quarters, while other analysts highlighted Adobe’s strong cash generation and lower valuation. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe announced a major expansion of its Creative Agent across Firefly and Creative Cloud, which could help strengthen its AI product lineup and improve customer adoption over time. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Bearish takeovers of the stock were countered by articles framing Adobe as a “dirt-cheap” tech giant and a potential rebound play after a steep decline, which may be helping limit downside. Motley Fool article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles focused on whether Adobe’s freemium strategy and AI transition can reaccelerate growth, but investor skepticism remains high and no clear catalyst has been proven yet. Motley Fool article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts warned that margins could deteriorate and that the market is still pricing in substantial AI-related disruption, which keeps pressure on the stock despite its lower valuation. Seeking Alpha article

Adobe Company 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.

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