Franklin Resources Inc. Has $725.40 Million Holdings in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Franklin Resources boosted its Adobe stake by 6.1% in Q3 to 2,056,408 shares worth about $725.4 million, leaving institutional investors holding roughly 81.8% of the company.
• Analyst and market sentiment is mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $383.08 amid recent downgrades and target cuts, while Adobe’s AI product rollouts and an expanded MLB partnership are cited as positive catalysts but short interest and implied volatility have risen, increasing near-term risk.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,056,408 shares of the software company's stock after purchasing an additional 117,390 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.49% of Adobe worth $725,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADBE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Adobe by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,369,395 shares of the software company's stock valued at $14,593,054,000 after buying an additional 344,816 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Adobe during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,029,950,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,407,162 shares of the software company's stock worth $1,705,043,000 after buying an additional 610,215 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Adobe by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,664,151 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,417,587,000 after acquiring an additional 548,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Adobe by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,142,035 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,108,353,000 after acquiring an additional 48,578 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ADBE shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Adobe from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Adobe from $375.00 to $340.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $350.00 price target on Adobe in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Adobe in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Adobe from $450.00 to $440.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Adobe currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $383.08.

Adobe Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADBE opened at $273.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business's 50 day moving average price is $287.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.39. The company has a market cap of $112.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.53. Adobe Inc. has a twelve month low of $244.28 and a twelve month high of $443.90.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The software company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.11 billion. Adobe had a return on equity of 61.28% and a net margin of 30.00%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.81 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Adobe Inc. will post 16.65 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Adobe

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded MLB partnership positions Adobe to sell enterprise AI tools to a major sports media partner, showing commercial demand for Adobe’s AI stack and potential recurring revenue opportunities. Adobe, MLB Expand Partnership To Power AI-Driven Fan Experiences
• Positive Sentiment: Product rollouts — Adobe is pushing conversational AI editing in Photoshop and enhancements to Firefly (image editing) that could accelerate adoption and upsells across Creative Cloud. These help the company demonstrate AI-driven product-led growth. Adobe Rolls Out Smarter AI Image Editing In Photoshop And Firefly
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings preview: Street expectations show revenue in the ~\$6.2–6.3B range and heightened focus on whether AI features are driving net-new growth or simply shifting usage. Results and commentary on AI monetization will likely drive the next directional move. Adobe Q1 earnings on deck: What to expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market is pricing a significant post-earnings move — implied volatility suggests traders expect material earnings-driven share movement, increasing short-term trading risk/reward. Keep an eye on implied move and realized volatility after the report. Here's How Much Adobe Stock Is Expected to Move After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and target cuts (TD Cowen cut its PT to \$325 from \$400 and moved to a “hold”) have pressured the stock, reflecting worries about growth deceleration and higher expectations for AI-related margin or monetization headwinds. Adobe Stock Drops As Analyst Cuts Target On Growth Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative: coverage pieces flag an “AI disruption trade” that has driven large multi-month share declines as investors question whether generative-AI lowers prices for creative tools or boosts Adobe’s TAM — this narrative has amplified selling ahead of earnings. Adobe Q1 preview: Stock down 38% on 'AI disruption trade'
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose in February to roughly 14.3M shares (~3.5% of float), increasing potential volatility and downside pressure into the print (days-to-cover ~2.9). This can exacerbate moves if sentiment deteriorates.

Insider Transactions at Adobe

In other Adobe news, CFO Daniel Durn sold 1,646 shares of Adobe stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.85, for a total transaction 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 $12,382,225.75. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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