Should I Buy ASC? ASC 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Ardmore Shipping Corp (ASC) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

12.320

1 Day change

0.49%

52 Week Range

13.560

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

ASC is not a good buy right now for a beginner, long-term investor who wants to act immediately. The chart is constructive, but the business fundamentals in the latest quarter (2025/Q3) are deteriorating sharply (revenue, earnings, margins down YoY) and there are no near-term catalysts or bullish proprietary signals to justify buying without waiting for a better fundamental/valuation setup. I would hold off and only consider buying if upcoming earnings (2026-02-12 pre-market) show stabilization or improving shipping rates.

Technical Analysis

Trend is bullish on moving averages (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200), implying an ongoing uptrend/positive structure. MACD histogram is above zero (0.0653) but “positively contracting,” suggesting momentum is still bullish but weakening. RSI(6) at 62.9 is neutral-to-slightly-warm (not overbought). Price (~11.96 pre-market) is near the pivot (11.864) and just below first resistance R1 (12.137); a clean break above 12.14 would favor continuation toward ~12.31 (R2). Key downside levels: S1 ~11.59 then S2 ~11.42—if those break, the bullish structure weakens. Pattern-based outlook provided is modest/flat: ~-1.38% next week, ~+1.44% next month, which is not compelling for an impatient long-term entry.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options positioning is strongly call-skewed (OI put/call 0.13; volume put/call 0.05), which typically signals bullish sentiment/speculation. Total volume (171) is slightly above recent averages (~112.5% of 30-day avg), but not extreme. Implied volatility (30d IV ~38.93) is above historical volatility (~35.55), yet IV percentile (20.8) and IV rank (13.64) are low—options are not priced at unusually high levels relative to the past year. Net: sentiment leans bullish, but it looks more like steady optimism than a major “event bet.”

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Technicals remain in a bullish moving-average alignment; options market is decisively call-leaning; next earnings date (2026-02-12 pre-market) could act as an upside catalyst if tanker/shipping conditions improved versus 2025/Q3.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Latest reported quarter (2025/Q3) shows meaningful YoY deterioration: revenue -15.47%, net income -47.86%, EPS -45.45%, gross margin -20.66%—this is the biggest reason not to buy aggressively for long-term today. No supportive news catalysts in the last week. Shipping is cyclical, so weakening financials can persist if rates soften. Proprietary trading signals provide no “strong buy” trigger today.

Financial Performance

2025/Q3 was a down quarter: Revenue fell to $81.245M (-15.47% YoY), Net Income to $12.143M (-47.86% YoY), EPS to $0.30 (-45.45% YoY), and Gross Margin to 31.98% (-20.66% YoY). This points to a clear downshift in profitability and operating leverage versus last year, which is unfavorable for a beginner long-term entry unless there is evidence the cycle is turning back up.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating trend or price-target change data was provided, so I cannot confirm whether Wall Street sentiment is improving or deteriorating. With the available data, the ‘pro’ case would focus on the bullish chart and bullish options skew; the ‘con’ case is the sharp YoY decline in 2025/Q3 financials and lack of near-term news catalysts.

1 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast ASC stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ASC is 16 USD with a low forecast of 16 USD and a high forecast of 16 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.

1 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 12.260

Low

Averages

High

Current: 12.260

Low

Averages

High

Evercore ISI

Jonathan Chappell

Outperform

maintain

$13 -> $15

AI Analysis

2025-10-28

Reason

Evercore ISI

Jonathan Chappell

Price Target

$13 -> $15

AI Analysis

2025-10-28

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell raised the firm's price target on Ardmore Shipping to $15 from $13 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Heading into the winter season, which is traditionally a time for rising rates, the tanker market setup "looks promising," the analyst tells investors in a note on the group.

Evercore ISI Group

Jonathan Chappell

Buy

Maintains

$14 → $13

2025-04-22

Reason

Evercore ISI Group

Jonathan Chappell

Price Target

$14 → $13

2025-04-22

Maintains

Buy

Reason

Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell lowered the firm's price target on Ardmore Shipping to $13 from $14 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Despite the stocks in the firm's tanker coverage trading at valuation discounts "only before seen in periods of liquidity/going concern risks" at a time when balance sheets across the sector have "never been stronger," headwinds to widespread interest in the group remain elevated, the analyst tells investors in a tanker sector note. Escalating fears regarding a potential global economic recession amid punitive trade policies is leading to meaningful resets lower of the oil demand picture, adds the analyst, who notes that recessionary periods historically have been "unfavorable to tanker rates" and equities.

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ASC Should I Buy

ASC Should I Buy

Should You Buy Ardmore Shipping Corp (ASC) 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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