Based in California, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) was able to capitalize on businesses’ shift to remote work in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, for awhile at least, ADBE stock was a darling on Wall Street.
Somehow, though, Adobe lost its luster among investors in recent months. Indeed, late 2021 and early 2022 have been particularly challenging for Adobe’s shareholders.
Perhaps ADBE stock was collateral damage as the Street turned against technology-sector stocks generally. Granted, it’s possible that the shares had risen too far, so a correction was appropriate.
Unfortunately, some traders have abandoned Adobe even while the shares are trading at a discount. As the company reaffirms its strength in the cloud and other segments, it’s time to bet on Adobe, not against it.
A Closer Look at ADBE Stock
The trouble for the shares started in September 2021, when ADBE stock met with strong resistance at $660. Adobe then declined but subsequently recovered to $660 in November, only to be rejected at that level again.
When a stock is rejected twice at a specific price level in a short period of time, that’s a signal of trouble ahead. In other words, if you’re in a position to take profits on shares, locking them in at such a time makes sense.
Fast forward to Feb. 10, and ADBE stock was changing hands for $500. It’s just another example of how powerful resistance lines can be.
Now let’s talk about Adobe’s support. From August 2020 through May 2021, the buyers kept the stock near $500 and refused to allow it to capitulate.
Therefore, ADBE stock could present a compelling buying opportunity at its current price. Just be sure to watch closely if and when it gets back to $660, as that’s the point at which the sellers might show up again.
Adobe’s Big Opportunity
Adobe’s critics seem to be ignoring the company’s huge opportunity in a vast, lucrative market.
That market is the document cloud. According to Adobe, the total addressable document cloud market is expected to reach around $21 billion in 2023 and roughly $32 billion in 2024.
Of course, Adobe is a major player in this market segment. For years, Adobe has been ahead of the curve in facilitating document-cloud services for businesses, particularly in the area of e-signatures.
Consequently, the company has generated robust revenues in this expanding market niche. Impressively, Adobe’s Document Cloud recorded $532 million of revenue in fiscal 2021, representing 29% year-over-year growth.
Furthermore, in fiscal 2021 the number of Adobe Sign transactions in Acrobat jumped more than 85% year-over-year No matter how you slice it, the firm’s momentum in this sector is undeniable.
Nothing to Complain About
Despite the Document Cloud’s ramp up, ADBE stock took a beating after Adobe posted its most recent quarterly financial results.
A broad tech-market selloff may have led to the decline, as Wall Street just wasn’t in the mood to buy technology stocks. But really, there’s nothing in Adobe’s quarterly data that should concern investors.
Consider this: during the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2021, Adobe generated record revenue of $4.11 billion, representing 20% growth on a year-over-year basis.
Adobe didn’t rely on its Document Cloud revenue to achieve this result, though the $532 million of sales from that segment certainly didn’t hurt.
The highlights of Adobe’s Q4 results included the 21% YOY increase in its Digital Media revenue, as well as the 19% YOY improvement in the revenue of its Creative unit.
Finally, Adobe has been quite profitable. In fact, the company booked $1.233 billion of net income during the three months that ended on Dec. 3. Also, during its fiscal year that ended on Dec. 3, 2021, Adobe reported $4.822 billion in net income.
The Bottom Line
All in all, there’s nothing wrong with Adobe’s Q4 financial results. The sales of multiple units of the company grew meaningfully, and the firm remains profitable.
Besides, the expected growth of the document-cloud market should stand Adobe and its investors in good stead.
Thus, it would be hasty to just give up on Adobe now. Even if Wall Street doesn’t love technology stocks at the moment, ADBE stock could still ride the cloud to higher prices.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.