Wells Fargo on Monday became the latest firm to downgrade Adobe after its recent acquisition of Figma. Analyst Michael Turrin downgraded the stock to equal weight from overweight, saying investors should sit on the sidelines as Adobe’s $20 billion purchase of Figma raises questions. Adobe shares plunged 24% last week after the software company announced the acquisition. Turrin also slashes his price target on Adobe. “Following a string of disappointing earnings results, Adobe shocked the software world announcing its intent to acquire Figma for ~$20Bn (1/2 cash, 1/2 stock),” Turrin wrote. “While the product/strategic fit is clearly aligned, it’s the price tag that is likely to lend credence to the bear case, at least for now.” Adobe is “one of the crown jewels of software,” according to the analyst, because of its leading suite of design software tools for creatives. Still, the company’s purchase of Figma for roughly 50 times revenue when cloud software sales are contracting from their prior year highs is alarming. “[We] expect investor questions around slowing growth/increasing competition on the digital media side of the business to only intensify, esp. given 3Q results/4Q guidance suggest price increases aren’t providing as much of an offset as anticipated,” Turrin wrote. “With the deal not expected to close until 2023, we expect concerns will linger and ADBE shares will remain range bound, and thus shift our rating to Equal Weight. More details on Figma (both product + financial fit) inside this report,” Turrin added. The firm’s new price target of $310, down from $425, represents just 3.5% upside for Adobe. Shares dipped 1.6% in premarket trading. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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