BNS Should I Buy
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BNS looks like a good buy right now for a beginner with a long-term horizon and $50,000-$100,000 to invest. The stock has a constructive technical setup, strong Q1 earnings growth, and mostly supportive options sentiment. Even though recent analyst actions have turned more cautious, the business fundamentals are improving and the current setup is acceptable for an investor who wants to buy now rather than wait for a perfect entry.
The chart trend is bullish. SMA_5 is above SMA_20 and SMA_200, which signals a positive trend structure. MACD histogram is positive at 0.119, though contracting, so momentum is still supportive but not accelerating. RSI_6 at 64.187 is healthy and not overbought. Price at 78.09 is near pivot 76.898 and just below R1 78.544, showing the stock is trading in the upper part of its near-term range. Overall, the technical picture favors an ongoing uptrend with moderate near-term upside.
["Q1 2026 revenue rose 6.82% year over year", "Q1 2026 net income rose 110.24% year over year", "Q1 2026 EPS rose 162.12% year over year", "Bullish moving-average alignment suggests trend continuation", "Options flow is supportive with put-call ratios below 1", "No negative news in the last week"]
["Recent analyst downgrades from Canaccord and TD Securities to Hold", "Consensus concern that valuation may already reflect improving returns", "MACD momentum is positive but contracting", "No recent news catalyst to drive a strong near-term breakout", "No recent congress or insider buying signal"]
In Q1 2026, BNS showed strong operating improvement. Revenue increased to 9.841 billion, up 6.82% year over year. Net income increased to 2.155 billion, up 110.24% year over year, and EPS rose to 1.73, up 162.12% year over year. This is a very strong latest-quarter season and suggests earnings recovery and improved profitability trends.
Analyst sentiment has softened recently. Canaccord downgraded Scotiabank to Hold from Buy on 2026-03-09 and cut its price target to C$110 from C$118. TD Securities also downgraded it to Hold from Buy on 2026-03-03 with a slightly lower target of C$111 from C$112. Earlier in late February, several firms raised targets after strong Q1 results, including RBC, BMO, Canaccord, Barclays, and Raymond James, but the more recent trend is clearly toward caution. Wall Street’s pros: improving earnings, better credit performance, and solid Q1 results. Cons: relative lag versus peers in Canadian P&C and Wealth Management, and concerns that valuation already reflects much of the improvement.
