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First Bancorp (FBNC) is not a strong buy at this moment for a beginner investor with a long-term strategy. While the company's financial performance has been strong, the lack of significant positive trading signals, neutral sentiment from insiders and hedge funds, and recent analyst downgrades suggest limited immediate upside. The technical indicators and options data also do not strongly support a buy decision. Holding off for now would be prudent.
The MACD is negatively expanding, and the RSI is neutral at 48.199, indicating no clear momentum. Moving averages are bullish (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200), but the stock is trading near key support levels (S1: 58.021). The technical indicators suggest a mixed picture with no strong buy signal.

Strong Q4 2025 financial performance with revenue up 15.58% YoY and net income up 332.75% YoY. Recent upgrades from Raymond James citing improving fundamentals and scarcity value in the Carolinas.
Recent analyst downgrades from Piper Sandler citing limited room for multiple expansion. CFO retirement announcement may introduce leadership uncertainty. Stock trend analysis suggests potential declines in the short term (-7.92% in the next week, -12.61% in the next month).
In Q4 2025, revenue increased by 15.58% YoY to $74.36 million, net income surged by 332.75% YoY to $15.71 million, and EPS rose by 322.22% YoY to $0.38. The company demonstrated strong growth trends, but gross margin remained flat.
Mixed analyst sentiment. Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Neutral with a price target of $64, citing limited upside. Keefe Bruyette raised the price target to $65 with an Outperform rating. Raymond James upgraded the stock to Strong Buy with a $62 price target, citing improving fundamentals and scarcity value.