Should I Buy ACIW? ACIW 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy ACI Worldwide Inc (ACIW) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

43.470

1 Day change

0.62%

52 Week Range

58.140

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

ACIW is not a good buy right now for a beginner, long-term investor who wants to act immediately. The current technical trend is bearish (long-term downtrend structure), options flow is put-skewed (risk-off near-term sentiment), and recent Congress activity is net selling. Fundamentals (2025/Q3 growth in revenue, EPS, and net income) are a plus, but the current setup does not support an immediate long-term entry at today’s pre-market price (~44.7).

Technical Analysis

Price/Trend: Bearish trend structure with moving averages stacked bearishly (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), implying the longer-term trend is still down. Momentum: MACD histogram is negative (-0.0407) but contracting, suggesting downside momentum is weakening (early stabilization), not yet a reversal. RSI: RSI(6)=53.3 (neutral), consistent with consolidation rather than a strong uptrend. Key Levels: Pivot ~44.515 (price ~44.7 slightly above pivot). Resistance levels: R1 ~46.63, R2 ~47.93. Support levels: S1 ~42.40, S2 ~41.10. For an immediate buy, the chart would look healthier after reclaiming/holding above ~46.6; failure risks a move back toward ~42.4. Pattern-based short-horizon expectation: Similar-pattern stats point to limited next-day upside and mixed outcomes (small expected move next day; modest 1-week upside; flat 1-month), not a strong momentum entry. **Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals** - [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today. - [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock recently.

Options Data

Bearish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bearish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment: Open interest put/call ratio at 1.08 is slightly put-heavy (mildly bearish/hedging). Much more notable is the option volume put/call ratio at 5.0 (puts dominating today’s flow), which signals near-term caution. Volatility: 30D IV ~41.4 vs historical vol ~31.4 suggests options are pricing elevated uncertainty. IV percentile ~62.8 indicates IV is above average vs its historical distribution. Liquidity/flow context: Today’s option volume is tiny (6 contracts total) but is high relative to its 30-day average (today vs avg ~46x), so the put-skew is still a meaningful directional tell despite low absolute volume.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Fundamental momentum: 2025/Q3 showed solid YoY growth in revenue (+6.78%), net income (+12.06%), and EPS (+14.29%).
Potential technical stabilization: MACD downside momentum is contracting and RSI is neutral, which sometimes precedes a base.
No negative news headlines in the last week (no fresh event-driven overhang reported).

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

signals the stock is still in a longer-term downtrend; rallies may face resistance.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue: $482.36M, +6.78% YoY (steady top-line growth). Net Income: $91.25M, +12.06% YoY (profit growth outpacing revenue). EPS: $0.88, +14.29% YoY (strong per-share growth). Gross Margin: 48.74%, down 1.22% YoY (a mild deterioration; watch if this trend continues). Overall: The quarter shows healthy growth in earnings power, but margin compression is a notable offset.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating or price target change data was provided, so recent Wall Street revisions can’t be confirmed from this dataset. Wall Street-style pros (based on provided fundamentals): accelerating EPS/net income growth in 2025/Q3 and steady revenue growth. Wall Street-style cons (based on provided signals): margin slippage, bearish technical trend, and near-term cautious sentiment (put-skew + Congress net selling).

3 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast ACIW stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ACIW is 66 USD with a low forecast of 66 USD and a high forecast of 66 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

2 Buy

1 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 43.200

Low

Averages

High

Current: 43.200

Low

Averages

High

Stephens

Charles Nabhan

Equal Weight -> Overweight

upgrade

$60

AI Analysis

2025-08-07

Reason

Stephens

Charles Nabhan

Price Target

$60

AI Analysis

2025-08-07

upgrade

Equal Weight -> Overweight

Reason

Stephens analyst Charles Nabhan upgraded ACI Worldwide to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $60 price target, citing a combination of valuation, strong revenue visibility, and capital flexibility. While the company's fiscal year guidance was not raised to reflect a Q1 beat, the firm believes continued momentum in expansion, cross-sell and new business "could lead to upside as we move through the year," the analyst tells investors. The firm also believes a premium valuation is warranted given the favorable demand environment and current management's "track record of execution."

Stephens

Equal Weight -> Overweight

upgrade

2025-08-07

Reason

Stephens

Price Target

2025-08-07

upgrade

Equal Weight -> Overweight

Reason

Stephens previously upgraded ACI Worldwide to Overweight from Equal Weight on July 17.

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ACIW Should I Buy

ACIW Should I Buy

Should You Buy ACI Worldwide Inc (ACIW) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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