COVID-19 An Incremental Growth Catalyst For Adobe, Analyst Says In Upgrade

Adobe Inc ADBE has catalysts to support sustainable growth and earnings power in the long term, according to Cowen.

The Adobe Analyst: Derrick Wood upgraded Adobe from Market Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $400 to $555.

The Adobe Takeaways: A rebound has occurred in Cowen's partner checks, with 67% of digital media partners meeting or exceeding their third-quarter expectations, Wood said in the upgrade note.

“In Digital Media, not only has growth proved to be durable, but we think COVID-19 has acted as an incremental growth catalyst, driving new demand and strategic focus around digital document workflow initiatives (Document Cloud) and opening up new long-tail subscriber TAM with enthusiasts and mobile content creation (Creative Cloud), both of which we think are new sustainable drivers,” the analyst said. 

Adobe is poised for growth acceleration and margin expansion in Digital Experience, with the exit of its lowest-margin Ad Cloud business, he said. 

The company’s turnaround in execution on Digital Experience and accelerating digital initiatives, including e-commerce and digital marketing, “should bode well for growth trends, especially in 4Q,” Wood said.

ADBE Price Action: Adobe shares were trading down 2.24% to $465.59 at last check Friday.