Analysts Tepid On Share Price For Adobe Systems Incorporated

Citing a rich share price, several analysts maintained middling ratings on Adobe Systems Incorporated

, while generally praising quarterly results released by the company Tuesday after the bell. Adobe shares dipped down slightly from near an all-time high Wednesday, after the company said currency exchange would reduce third-quarter earnings by roughly 10 percent. The San Jose, California-based software company traded recently at $79.26, off $0.68 cents. Wall Street analysts on average maintain an Overweight rating and $85.71 target on Adobe, according to FactSet. But analysts at RBC Capital and FBR & Co. on Wednesday maintained Market Perform ratings on Adobe, while Morgan Stanley kept an Equal Weight rating and Wunderlich held steady at Hold. Also Tuesday, Adobe launched Adobe Stock, a move it said will shake up the $3 billion global stock image market. The new offering is based on the $800 million acquisition of stock content provider Fotolia, earlier this year. Adobe Stock could result in higher revenue per user "with minimal incremental investment," said RBC's Ross MacMillan, although he left his earnings estimates unchanged and maintained an $88 target on Adobe. The company is "on track" for healthy growth, according to FBR's Samad Samana, who said nonetheless that investors "could be disappointed" by the company's latest outlook. Samana maintained an $88 target on Adobe. Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss "like the story" for Adobe, "but with the stock near an all-time high, we remain Equal Weight," Weiss said, maintaining a $75 target. Adobe's price-to-sales ratio is nearly 8 percent higher than average for the company's peers in the software-as-service sector, according to Wunderlich's Rob Breza. Breza's 2015 earnings estimate is slightly below the $2.08 a-share consensus, and he maintained a Hold rating on Adobe along with a $90 target that is well above average.