Adobe's stock price reached its lowest level since 2019 during early trading on Friday. Citi downgraded the price target for the company and five other software firms, with fears of AI disruption erasing nearly $1 trillion in market value from the sector.
Adobe's shares have fallen more than 31% year-to-date. Widespread market concerns that AI tools could diminish demand for traditional software have wiped out close to $1 trillion in value from the software industry.
Citi revised its rating outlook for Adobe, adopting a more cautious stance toward the group as renewed worries about AI-driven disruption weigh on the sector.
The financial institution lowered Adobe's target price from $287 to $253 while maintaining a "hold" rating on the creative software maker. This adjustment still implies roughly 10% potential upside from recent trading levels, although the analyst noted that there appear to be few near-term catalysts likely to boost Adobe's stock over the coming year.
Citi's more selective position comes as software stocks face renewed pressure following Anthropic's introduction of the "Glasswing Plan"—an initiative backed by several major technology partners. The project is expected to launch a model capable of autonomously identifying security vulnerabilities, sparking widespread anxiety among traditional software and cybersecurity firms.
Adding to the uncertainty surrounding Adobe is the planned departure of long-time CEO Shantanu Narayen, despite the company recently tripling its AI-related recurring revenue and delivering quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street expectations.
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