Adobe’s second-quarter results exceeded expectations, and its full-year outlook also exceeded expectations. However, a change in management and three downgrades hurt the stock in pre-market trading on Friday. Stifel downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold” and lowered his price target to $200. This represents an 8.5% decline from Thursday’s closing price. Analyst J. Parker Lane said in a note Thursday that despite the favorable conditions, a downward revision to Adobe’s annual recurring revenue outlook as it moves more toward its freemium strategy of offering high-quality free products to customers is weighing on the stock. He added that the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Dan Dern, announced on Thursday, combined with CEO Shantanu Narayan, who plans to step down by the end of the year, added further uncertainty to the company’s future. “We are moving to the sidelines as the company transitions its freemium strategy and replaces its CEO/CFO,” Lane wrote. Wolfe Research downgraded Adobe from Outperform to Peer Perform. Analyst Alex Zukin called the results a “change in theory,” believing that changes in top management as growth slows will limit stock price gains. Mr. Wolf does not provide price targets for the stocks he evaluates in the same industry. Evercore ISI also downgraded the stock from buy to hold. The new $225 price target represents an increase of just under 3% from Thursday’s closing price. Analyst Kirk Mattern also said the full-year recurring revenue outlook was disappointing. “FY26 headline ARR guidance remains unchanged at 10.2%, implying total organic net new ARR to decline by 55-60% in 2H26,” Materne wrote in a note on Friday. “The combination of a monetization drive that prioritizes near-term engagement and an ongoing CEO/CFO search will likely keep ADBE stock in ‘show me’ mode.” ADBE 1Y Mountain Adobe 1 Year. Adobe stock has fallen 47% in the past 12 months and more than 37% in 2026 alone on concerns that artificial intelligence will disrupt software companies’ business models. Those losses continued in pre-market trading on Friday, with the stock down more than 6%.
