NEW YORK, Jan 5, 2026, 06:11 ET — Premarket
- Jefferies cut Adobe to Hold from Buy and lowered its price target to $400 from $500. 1
- Adobe shares were down about 0.8% in premarket trading after ending the prior session at $333.30. 2
Shares of Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) fell about 0.8% to $330.6 in premarket trading on Monday after Jefferies downgraded the Photoshop maker to Hold from Buy and cut its price target to $400 from $500. The stock closed on Friday down 4.8%. 3
The call lands as Wall Street starts the year reassessing software valuations, with investors pressing for proof that generative AI can lift paid subscriptions rather than widen the pool of free alternatives. Jefferies said 2026 is likely to bring only “gradual” AI monetization — turning AI features into paid revenue — and warned that “disintermediation” fears persist, meaning customers may bypass full software suites for standalone tools. 4
Jefferies pointed to intensifying pressure in the lower end of Adobe’s market, where casual creators can choose from a growing menu of AI-enhanced options instead of subscribing to Creative Cloud. Analyst Brent Thill wrote that accelerating growth would be “more difficult without a step-function increase in creative AI mindshare” — shorthand for a sharp jump in user adoption and engagement with Adobe’s AI features. 5
From a chart perspective, traders are watching the $330 area after Friday’s intraday low of $331.64, with overhead resistance near $350 after last week’s trading range topped out around $351. Adobe has traded in a 52-week range of $311.58 to $465.70, according to Investing.com. 6
Beyond single-stock catalysts, markets face a heavy U.S. data calendar that can swing rate expectations and, by extension, valuation-sensitive tech stocks. The ISM manufacturing survey is due later Monday, the ISM services report follows on Wednesday, and the U.S. jobs report is scheduled for Friday; investors also have the Fed’s Jan. 27-28 policy meeting on the radar. 7
Adobe last guided in December for fiscal 2026 revenue of $25.90 billion to $26.10 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $23.30 to $23.50, above analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG. The company also said it would shift reporting to focus more on subscription revenue and year-ending annual recurring revenue. 8
Investors’ next company checkpoint is Adobe’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call on March 12, when they will look for traction in paid AI offerings and net new annual recurring revenue (ARR), a yardstick for subscription sales expected over a year. 9