Should I Buy CATY? CATY 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

50.740

1 Day change

0.10%

52 Week Range

54.990

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

BUY for a beginner long-term investor right now. The stock is sitting near a key support zone (~49.09) after a mild pullback, while the bigger-picture trend remains constructive (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) and the latest quarter (2025/Q4) showed solid YoY growth and an EPS beat. Near-term momentum is soft (negative MACD) and options positioning is slightly defensive, but for an impatient long-term investor, the risk/reward is acceptable to start/continue building a position at current levels.

Technical Analysis

Trend: Longer-term trend is bullish (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200), suggesting the broader uptrend is intact. Momentum: MACD histogram is negative (-0.0642) and expanding lower, signaling weakening short-term momentum. RSI(6) at ~43.36 is neutral-to-soft (not oversold), implying downside pressure could continue briefly. Levels: Current price 49.96 is below the pivot (51.48) and close to support S1 (49.09). If S1 fails, next support is S2 (47.62). Upside resistance sits around 51.48, then 53.87 (R1). Pattern/near-term odds: Similar-pattern model implies mild downside bias (-0.1% next week; -2.6% next month), so expect choppy-to-slightly weak price action even if the long-term trend stays positive. 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

Options snapshot (2025-11-19): Put open interest (68) exceeds call open interest (55), producing an OI put/call ratio of 1.24, which is mildly bearish/defensive positioning. However, reported option volume is effectively zero today (no meaningful call/put volume), so sentiment from volume is not informative. Implied vol (30D ~45.41) is elevated vs historical vol (~36.52), suggesting the options market is pricing in higher uncertainty than recent realized moves.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Q4 2025 earnings strength: GAAP EPS of $1.33 beat expectations by $0.10, with revenue reported at $222.8M. Profitability improving: Net income of $90.5M in Q4 2025 rose 16.5% vs prior quarter, supporting confidence in operating momentum. Broader technical structure remains bullish via moving-average alignment.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

can create short-term uncertainty even with an identified successor. Near-term technical momentum is weakening (negative, expanding MACD), increasing the odds of additional pullback before a sustained move higher. Options open-interest skew is defensive (OI put/call 1.24), consistent with cautious sentiment.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q4. Growth trends were positive: Revenue $201.156M (+13.83% YoY), Net Income $90.517M (+12.86% YoY), and EPS $1.33 (+18.75% YoY). This is a clean growth profile for the quarter and aligns with the reported EPS beat, supporting a long-term accumulation case.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating/price-target history was provided, so recent rating trend and target revisions cannot be verified from the dataset. Wall Street-style pros (based on provided fundamentals): improving YoY revenue/earnings and an earnings beat. Cons: near-term technical momentum is soft, options positioning is slightly defensive, and management change (CFO transition) can add uncertainty. Politicians/influential figures: No recent congress trading data available in the last 90 days, and no notable politician/influencer buy/sell activity was provided. Hedge fund/insider trends: Both reported as Neutral with no significant recent trend.

3 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CATY stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CATY is 50.67 USD with a low forecast of 45 USD and a high forecast of 55 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.

0 Buy

2 Hold

1 Sell

Moderate Sell

Current: 50.690

Low

Averages

50.67

High

Current: 50.690

Low

Averages

50.67

High

DA Davidson

Neutral

maintain

$51 -> $52

AI Analysis

2025-10-23

Reason

DA Davidson

Price Target

$51 -> $52

AI Analysis

2025-10-23

maintain

Neutral

Reason

DA Davidson raised the firm's price target on Cathay General to $52 from $51 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The company reported a solid quarter of net interest income growth and net interest margin expansion, although its loan loss provision also came in higher than expected, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Keefe Bruyette

Kelly Motta

Market Perform

maintain

$53 -> $55

2025-10-22

Reason

Keefe Bruyette

Kelly Motta

Price Target

$53 -> $55

2025-10-22

maintain

Market Perform

Reason

Keefe Bruyette analyst Kelly Motta raised the firm's price target on Cathay General to $55 from $53 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. Keefe is "not really" that concerned with credit, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

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CATY Should I Buy

CATY Should I Buy

Should You Buy Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) 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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