Analyst Says Adobe (ADBE) Needs More Market Attention Amid ‘Attractive’ Growth and Profitability

We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks to Watch for the Rest of 2024. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) stands against other AI stocks to watch for the rest of 2024.

Talking about the latest market situation during a program on CNBC, Julian Emanuel, Evercore ISI senior managing director, said that despite the ups and downs that have happened since the pandemic, the US remains an economy that is “envy of the world.” The analyst urged investors to pile into stocks that have historically performed well after the Fed started cutting rates and hinted at the expected “turbulence” related to US elections.

“We love what we call the Fed rate cut playbook. You go back to 1970, you look at all the rate cutting cycles, there’s a very pronounced outperformance in the year after the Fed starts cutting from info tech, surprise surprise. Small caps, which might be a bit counterintuitive considering how much they took it on the chin today, but also, barbelled by the more defensive sectors, consumer staples and health care. So, to us, that’s sort of the sensible way that will help you ride out if you get some turbulence, which, obvious, if there’s a contested outcome, you’re likely going to get some turbulence.”

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Pointing to market volatility, Emanuel said that the “wall of worry” is still strong.

“The wall of worry is still very, very intact. And if you think about it, yeah, the VIX is low compared to maybe longer run history, but actually, if you think about the inertia of the markets the last several weeks, the VIX is high, and it should be, in front of probably one of the biggest unknowns we’ve been facing, certainly in the last four years, if not longer.”

For this article we picked 10 AI stocks trending based on latest news. With each company we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

A team of engineers and scientists collaborating at a workstation surrounded by their applications and solutions.

Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 107

Bill Stone, The Glenview Trust Company CIO, said while talking to CNBC in a latest program that people were not happy with Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) when the company last gave guidance but he is bullish on the stock for several reasons.

“We don’t think they are behind there. We think some real attractive growth there and some really attractive profitability While it doesn’t look cheap on the surface, with their growth profile and relative to where it normally trades, I do think it’s an interesting one to look at. And with the stock market pushing on all-time highs here all the time lately, looking for something out of the, you know, realm seems a little more interesting.”

Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) expects fourth-quarter revenue between $5.5 billion and $5.55 billion, with a midpoint of $5.525 billion, falling short of the $5.6 billion consensus estimate. Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) also forecasts earnings per share (EPS) ranging from $4.63 to $4.68, with the midpoint slightly below the $4.67 estimate.

Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) has become a complex case for analysts who are still gauging whether Adobe would be a net beneficiary of the AI boom or a loser. On the one hand, Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) is under threat with tons of AI tools good enough to make beginner-level designs, posts and videos for individuals or companies with low or no marketing budget. But on the other hand, the company is launching several AI-powered tools and integrating generative AI tools in its products that could boost its revenue in the future.

Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum Group, said in a program on CNBC that the latest earnings show the effects of a macro slowdown but Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE) could benefit if companies decide to use the company’s AI tools to cut its reliance on human workers.

Polen Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“With Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE), in some ways, we see it as a microcosm of the market’s “shoot first, ask questions later” approach to categorizing AI winners and losers. In the early part of last year, Adobe came under pressure with a perception that generative AI (GenAI) would represent a material headwind to their suite of creative offerings. In short order, the company introduced its GenAI offering, Firefly, which shifted the narrative to Adobe as a beneficiary with a real opportunity to monetize GenAI in the near term. Earlier this year, that narrative was again challenged as the company reported a slight slowdown in revenue growth. Results in the most recent quarter were robust as the company raised its full-year forecast across a number of key metrics and showcased better-than-expected results.”

Overall, ADBE ranks 6th on our list of AI stocks to watch for the rest of 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of ADBE, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ADBE but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.