Seeking Alpha: Monotype Imaging May Be On Hold For 2013, But The Long-Term Outlook Is Solid

Given that Monotype Imaging (TYPE) is up about 16% since I recommended it in mid-March (against 6% for the S&P 500), I'm feeling pretty good about that call. Likewise, I still like the long-term opportunity for this company. Fonts and typefaces are one of those businesses that fits in with Peter Lynch's philosophy of targeting overlooked businesses that provide essential products/services that nobody thinks about much, if ever.

All told, I still believe that Monotype has less than 20% of its potential market, and the revenue opportunity for the company could be as high as $1 billion. On the other hand, demand for consumer and business electronics like handsets, tablets, and printers has been softer lately and the company has had to reduce guidance on the basis of higher/worse-than-expected FX headwinds and taxes. I don't believe that investors need to freak out over the lower guidance for 2013, but it does suggest that these shares may be just marking time until revenue growth reaccelerates.

Please continue here:
Monotype Imaging May Be On Hold For 2013, But The Long-Term Outlook Is Solid

Investopedia: Autodesk A Little Undervalued, But Uncertainty Is Rising

It's interesting to see which excuses the Street willingly accepts when a company is struggling with guidance. In the case of Autodesk (Nasdaq:ADSK), the Street isn't too bothered by another round of lower guidance and ongoing economic uncertainties. Instead, investors seem excited about the potential of a more pronounced transition to a SaaS model. Although I think the Street may be a little too optimistic on that point, the shares do look a little undervalued and remain a volatile software play leveraged to improving economic activity.

Please follow this link to continue:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/082313/autodesk-little-undervalued-uncertainty-rising-adsk-dasty-pmtc-azpn-adbe.aspx

Investopedia: Adobe Patches A Hole With A $600 Million Purchase

Make no mistake about what Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) management is thinking – the company's legacy digital media business (Creative Suite/Creative Cloud, which includes well-known offerings like Photoshop) is primarily a source of cash flow, while digital marketing/marketing cloud is where the company's future growth will be generated. To that end, Adobe is spending another $600 million to enhance its capabilities and compete more effectively with the likes of Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL), IBM (NYSE:IBM), and Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM).

Spending Money To Make Money
Adobe announced Thursday evening that it had reached an agreement to acquire privately-held Neolane for $600 million in cash. While certainly not a household name to most investors, Neolane is an emerging player in marketing management software, with a strong position in areas like lead management and cross-channel campaign management.

Please click here to continue:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/062813/adobe-patches-hole-600m-purchase-adbe-orcl-crm-ibm-mkto.aspx

Investopedia: Wall Street Has Converted To Adobe's New Model; Will Customers?

Wall Street analysts and investors can be an exceptionally stubborn bunch, and it sometimes takes several whacks with a 2x4 to make them see reason. That seems to have happened with Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE), though, as the Street now seems quite enthusiastic about the company's philosophical shift in digital media and its opportunities in digital marketing. With the stock up more than 35% over the past year, this is the first time in quite a long time where I can say that Adobe's stock no longer looks like much of a value.

Please continue reading here:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/061913/wall-street-has-converted-adobes-new-model-will-customers-adbe-aapl-orcl-crm-ibm.aspx

Investopedia: How Much Further Can Value Carry Autodesk?

I've been a little surprised by Autodesk's (Nasdaq:ADSK) performance over the past nine months or so. While I've long liked this company and thought it was significantly undervalued on a cash flow basis, I've been surprised that worries about macroeconomic conditions, the switch to a cloud/subscription model, and generally unimpressive top-line growth didn't overshadow that underlying value. With another disappointing quarter in hand and estimates heading lower, though, it may be a little harder for the value trade to support these shares in the short term.

To read more, please click below:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/051713/how-much-further-can-value-carry-autodesk-adsk-anss-pmtc-adbe.aspx

Seeking Alpha: Monotype Imaging Looks To Print Money

Fonts and typefaces fall into that group of technologies that nobody thinks about unless/until they fail or don't look right. Monotype Imaging (TYPE) makes sure that doesn't happen often, as it is a leading developer of text imaging software and solutions. Although the shares look reasonably valued today, more success in emerging end-market opportunities could lead to better-than-expected performance down the line.

Please click below to continue:
Monotype Imaging Looks To Print Money

Investopedia: Adobe's Model Still In Transition, But It Seems To Be Working

With Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) is still in the midst of a significant change in its business model (towards a subscription-based model), it is likely that it is still going to take a few more quarters for investors to really dial in their expectations. Nevertheless, it does look as though this switch holds the potential of rejuvenating a model that some thought was bereft of growth. Adobe's valuation isn't as compelling as it was just a quarter ago, but this remains a quality company trading at a discount.

Please follow this link for the full article:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Adobes-Model-Still-In-Transition-But-It-Seems-To-Be-Working-ADBE-MSFT-ORCL-GOOG1217.aspx

Investopedia: Adobe's Transition Is Necessary, But A Little Turbulent

Another of the many quirks of Wall Street is that pretty much everybody can know what's going on, and yet still show some surprise when it shows up in the financials. Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) is in the middle of a business model transition as it shifts customers from licenses to subscriptions, and that process is messing with the reported revenue numbers. While the pre-market indications do not suggest that investors are too worried about Adobe's performance, the valuation still suggests something less than a full buy-in to Adobe's ongoing growth prospects.

Please continue reading here:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Adobes-Transition-Is-Necessary-But-A-Little-Turbulent-ADBE-MSFT-AAPL-GOOG0921.aspx

Investopedia: Adobe Still Short On Sizzle

Another quarter goes into the books, and not much is different over at Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE). While Adobe continues to chug along and produce cash flow, there's not much outperformance on the top line. Consequently, while fundamentals-oriented investors will likely see some value in these shares, the process of unlocking that value could take a lot of patience. Investopedia Broker Guides: Enhance your trading with the tools from today's top online brokers

Please read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Adobe-Still-Short-On-Sizzle-ADBE-MSFT-AAPL-GOOG-ORCL0621.aspx

Investopedia: Adobe Has To Deliver The Growth To Unlock The Value

One of the fundamental rules of tech investing is that there is no value without growth. Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) is undoubtedly a leader in its digital media markets, with well-known products like Acrobat and Photoshop basically defining their genres, but growth has been harder and harder to come by without relying on deals. With an upcoming new cycle in digital media and growth potential in digital marketing, can Adobe deliver the sort of growth it will take to get investors interested in the value?

A Somewhat Complicated Quarter  
Although reported results for Adobe's fiscal first quarter looked fine, some of the moving parts seem to be generating some chatter and worry. Revenue was up 2% from last year and down about 9% from the prior quarter, basically in line with expectations. Digital media revenue was down 12% sequentially and digital marketing revenue was down 4%. All in all, marketing did better and media did worse than expected.

Please read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Adobe-Has-To-Deliver-The-Growth-To-Unlock-The-Value-ADBE-IBM-ORCL0321.aspx

Investopedia: Can Investors Buy Into Adobe's Next Act?

There are at least two different ways to assess Adobe's (Nasdaq:ADBE) performance over the past 16 years. In terms of execution of its business plan, Adobe has been a breakaway success - products like Photoshop and Acrobat dominate their niches to the point were "Photoshopping" and "PDFing" are verbs that almost everyone recognizes.


On the other hand, Adobe has not been such a runaway success as a stock. True, the stock is up about 400% over the past 16 years, but that is not all that impressive relative to Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL) or Intuit (Nasdaq:INTU) and basically matches Microsoft's (Nasdaq:MSFT) performance - even though Adobe should have the advantage of being a more nimble company with more opportunities for growth.


The question for investors, then, is perhaps not so much whether Adobe can maintain its dominance and expand into new territories like smartphones and tablets, but whether investors will reward that growth.

 

To read the full article, please follow the link: 

http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Can-Investors-Buy-Into-Adobes-Next-Act-ADBE-MSFT-ORCL-AAPL-CSCO-GOOG-IBM0623.aspx

Investopedia: Autodesk Still At The Drawing Board

Going back to the drawing board is supposed to be a bad a thing - a mark of failure that comes after a plan does not quite work out as expected. For Autodesk (Nasdaq:ADSK), it's just another day on the job for this leading provider of design and digital content software, including the very well-known AutoCad software, which is a leader in drafting, design and architectural drawing. 

With the economic recovery in full swing, the question for Autodesk investors now is what the company can do to leverage its extensive brand value into new growth opportunities. The answer to that question may well spell the difference between an underappreciated growth opportunity and yet another well-known, old-school tech stock destined to languish. 

A Solid Start to the Year 

Autodesk got the year off to a good start. Revenue rose 11%, with license revenue rising 15% and making up more than 60% of total revenue. Looking at the company's segments, there was a pretty remarkable conformity. The platforms, manufacturing and design business all grew around 15% for the period. In contrast, weak infrastructure and commercial construction activity is keeping a lid on the AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) business, and growth here was just 3% for the quarter. 

Read the full article at Investopedia:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Autodesk-Still-At-The-Drawing-Board-ADSK-DASTY-PMTC-ADBE-AVID-ANSS-CDNS0525.aspx

No Damming Digital River

Nothing irks value investors like an expensive stock that stays expensive and more or less delivers the performance investors want. E-commerce specialist Digital River (Nasdaq: DRIV) is a good example. The stock has rarely been cheap, but the company continues to separate itself from would-be rivals and seems to have a way of bouncing back from setbacks. 

The Quarter That Was
Digital River announced that revenue fell 14% in the third quarter, due mostly to the loss of Symantec (Nasdaq:SYMC) as a customer. The company has done a great job of scrambling to replace that loss, though. Revenue excluding Symantec would have been up more than 20% over last year, due in part to the expansion of the company's relationship with other software companies like Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) and Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS).

Profitability was a bit more problematic, however. The company made scant progress in trimming down expenses in sync with revenue, and Digital River saw total operating expenses fall only a bit more than $2 million. Consequently operating income fell precipitously, though the company's adjusted earnings were fine relative to Wall Street expectations.


Please click the link below to continue:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/No-Damming-Digital-River-DRIV-SYMC-MSFT-ERTS-IBM-ACN-GSIC1027.aspx

Adobe Not Stuck In The Mud

Software companies inevitably sow the seeds of their own destruction. If a company develops a good product and "proves" that a market is lucrative, competition is sure to come running. Worse still, big companies are by their very nature not as nimble or risk-tolerant as start-ups, so there is always a host of wannabes nipping at the heels of successful companies. 

Despite all of that, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) has managed to become the acknowledged top dog in a market segment that is still poised for strong growth. Better still, the company seems to be navigating the latest prophecies of doom pretty skillfully. 


For the rest of the story: 
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Adobe-Not-Stuck-In-The-Mud-ADBE-AAPL-MSFT-GOOG-RIMM-NOK-PALM0623.aspx