Should I Buy AVNT? AVNT 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Avient Corp (AVNT) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

36.150

1 Day change

0.39%

52 Week Range

44.780

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

Not a good buy right now for a beginner long-term investor who wants to act immediately. AVNT is in a technical uptrend, but options positioning (put-heavy open interest), weakening recent quarter fundamentals, and heavy hedge-fund selling make the risk/reward unattractive at today’s pre-market price (~36.71). I would HOLD (or wait for a clearer post-earnings setup), rather than buy now.

Technical Analysis

Price/Trend: Bullish trend structure with moving averages stacked positively (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200), suggesting the broader trend is up. Momentum: MACD histogram is positive (0.214) but “positively contracting,” indicating upside momentum is slowing rather than accelerating. RSI(6)=65.08 is neutral-to-slightly-warm (not oversold), so it’s not presenting a clear “bargain” entry. Levels: Pivot ~35.99 is nearby support; upside resistance starts around R1 ~37.45 then R2 ~38.36. With price at 36.71, upside to first resistance is limited unless a catalyst breaks it. Pattern-based forward view provided: ~70% chance of -0.94% next day, +0.42% next week, +2.59% next month—mildly positive over a month but not compelling enough to override the risk flags. **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

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment/Positioning: Open interest put/call ratio at 1.76 is bearish/defensive (more puts than calls outstanding), implying hedging demand or cautious sentiment. Volume is effectively zero today (call volume 0, put volume 0; put/call volume ratio 0.0), so there’s no fresh flow confirming a bullish reversal. Volatility: 30D IV ~75.21 vs historical vol ~27.82, with IV percentile ~87.2—options are pricing elevated uncertainty (often around upcoming events like earnings), which aligns with a “wait for clarity” stance rather than chasing.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Analyst tone improving into 2026: Oppenheimer (Jan
raised PT to $41 (Outperform) and KeyBanc (Jan
raised PT to $50 (Overweight), signaling renewed confidence and potential upside from current levels.
Macro tailwinds cited by analysts: potential rate-cut dynamics and stabilization in industrial verticals could support cyclical recovery.
Near-term event catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-12 (pre-market) could re-rate the stock if results/guidance surprise positively (Street EPS est. ~0.54).

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Smart-money flow: Hedge funds are selling, with selling amount up ~319.69% over the last quarter—this is a meaningful negative sentiment/positioning signal.
Options skew: Put-heavy open interest (1.76 put/call) suggests investors are more focused on downside protection than upside speculation.
Fundamentals trending down (latest quarter): revenue, EPS, net income, and gross margin all declined YoY, which can cap long-term multiple expansion.
Dividend narrative in news: recent coverage emphasizes dividend variability tied to profitability, which can reduce the “steady long-term income” appeal.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3. Growth/margins weakened YoY: Revenue $806.5M (-1.07% YoY), Net Income $32.6M (-14.66% YoY), EPS $0.36 (-12.20% YoY), Gross Margin 30.37% (-5.30% YoY). This is not a growth-accelerating profile right now; it suggests operating pressure and a need for demand/margin stabilization before a confident long-term buy.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend: Ratings remain broadly constructive but with notable volatility in price targets. In Nov 2025, targets were cut (Deutsche Bank to $36 from $42; Baird to $34 from $37; Oppenheimer to $37 from $41) after a mixed print (top line light, EPS slightly ahead; FY25 EPS reaffirmed). In Jan 2026, sentiment improved with price target raises (Oppenheimer to $41; KeyBanc to $50) while maintaining bullish ratings (Outperform/Overweight). Wall Street pros view—Pros: potential cyclical recovery and upside to targets vs current price. Cons: industry/cycle challenges and structural headwinds cited by KeyBanc (construction/durables downturn, commodity capacity overhang, deindustrialization pressures), plus recent fundamental softness. Influential/political trading: No recent congress trading data available; insiders are described as neutral (no significant recent trend).

5 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast AVNT stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AVNT is 39.8 USD with a low forecast of 34 USD and a high forecast of 50 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.

4 Buy

1 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 36.010

Low

Averages

39.8

High

Current: 36.010

Low

Averages

39.8

High

Oppenheimer

Kristen Owen

Outperform

maintain

$37 -> $41

AI Analysis

2026-01-20

Reason

Oppenheimer

Kristen Owen

Price Target

$37 -> $41

AI Analysis

2026-01-20

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Oppenheimer analyst Kristen Owen raised the firm's price target on Avient (AVNT) to $41 from $37 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes that the run-up to Q4 2025 earnings season has seen a flurry of macro factors impacting stocks in its Industrial Efficiency coverage, including rate cut dynamics, the Venezuela-U.S. military confrontation, and the Nvidia (NVDA) Vera Rubin platform launch. Investor sentiment has improved materially for short-cycle and equipment-focused names, while cooling on data center-exposed stocks. Many industrial verticals have stabilized, and rate cuts, lapping tariff headwinds, OBBBA benefits, and additional prospective measures ahead of midterms could lend to broader recovery; some of this optimism arguably reflects in recent market moves, Oppenheimer adds.

KeyBanc

Overweight

maintain

$48 -> $50

2026-01-09

Reason

KeyBanc

Price Target

$48 -> $50

2026-01-09

maintain

Overweight

Reason

KeyBanc raised the firm's price target on Avient to $50 from $48 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The industry remains locked in the same struggle with cyclical downturn in construction/durables demand; unabating commodity capacity overhang enabled by China's advantage in capex and cost of capital; and chemical industry's customers losing share as the West, especially Europe, deindustrializes. Over the next one to two years, the firm sees optionality of improvement in demand, but other structural issues are likely to take longer to resolve.

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AVNT Should I Buy

AVNT Should I Buy

Should You Buy Avient Corp (AVNT) 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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