DocuSign rises even as UBS says 'another guide-down seems likely'
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DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) shares rose on Tuesday even as investment firm UBS harped on the document software company, noting a right-sizingâ in renewals, as well as increased competition from Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE). 
Analyst Karl Keirstead, who has a neutral rating on DocuSign (DOCU) shares, recently performed a channel check and found that the overall tone was "cautious" as penetration is high, particularly among the Fortune 500, and there is sluggish growth surround its Contract Lifecycle Management products. 
"What sounded ânewâ were anecdotes about âright-sizingâ DocuSign contracts upon renewal, even though one partner argued that this process may be bottoming (weâre not convinced), and a pick-up in the number of anecdotes about share losses to Adobe," Keirstead wrote in a note to clients.
DocuSign (DOCU) shares rose more than 0.5% to $58.43 in premarket trading.
Looking ahead, Keristead believes that there is "modest" downside risk to the guidance DocuSign (DOCU) provided in July. However, the billings guidance for the fourth-quarter looks "too high" given the troubles the company is facing in sales execution, as well as executive turnover, with both the CEO and COO having left in June. 
Investment firm RBC said earlier this month that DocuSign (DOCU) would be one of the hardest hit software companies in a possible recession, along with several other companies.