Should I Buy CBT? CBT 2026 Analysis

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

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

72.230

1 Day change

1.04%

52 Week Range

89.160

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

Not a good buy right now for a beginner long-term investor who is impatient. CBT’s near-term trend is weakening (negative/expanding MACD), fundamentals in the latest quarter deteriorated sharply (large YoY drops in revenue, EPS, and net income), and there are no proprietary “strong buy” signals today. While longer-term EV/battery-related supply wins and several bullish price targets support the story, the current setup is better suited to waiting for post-earnings clarity (2026-02-03) or a clearer technical uptrend rather than buying immediately.

Technical Analysis

Price (~71.52) is sitting near the pivot (71.62), with nearby support at 69.63 (S1) and resistance at 73.60 (R1). Momentum is leaning bearish: MACD histogram is negative (-0.181) and expanding lower, indicating downside pressure is building. RSI(6) ~49.85 is neutral (no oversold rebound signal). Moving averages are converging, suggesting a range-bound market that can break either way; with MACD negative, the bias is slightly to the downside. Pattern-based stats also lean weak short-term (expected -0.88% next week) but improve over a month (+2.5%), implying any long-term entry is likely better after a cleaner base or breakout above ~73.6–74.8. 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

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bearish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options positioning is mixed. Open interest put/call of 0.65 suggests more call positioning than puts (mildly bullish longer-horizon stance). However, the put/call ratio on daily volume is 1.78, indicating traders are buying more puts than calls today (short-term caution/hedging). Implied volatility is elevated (30D IV ~42.36) with an extremely high IV percentile (~91), signaling the market is pricing notable risk/uncertainty—consistent with the upcoming earnings date (2026-02-03).

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Multi-year supply agreement with PowerCo (Volkswagen battery subsidiary) for conductive carbons used in EV battery production in Europe (supports longer-term growth narrative).
Gross margin improved in the latest quarter (24.47%, +2.04% YoY), indicating some pricing/mix or cost control resilience.
Some Street support remains (Jefferies Buy with $81 target; Mizuho Outperform with $80 target), implying upside if earnings stabilize.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Latest quarter showed sharp earnings deterioration: revenue -10.19% YoY, EPS -67.77% YoY, net income -68.66% YoY—this is the main near-term overhang.
Technical momentum is weakening (negative and worsening MACD) with price stuck in a tight range, increasing risk of a breakdown toward ~69.6 or ~68.4 supports.
Options flow today skews defensive (put-heavy volume), and very high IV percentile implies traders are bracing for potentially adverse moves.
No supportive recent news flow in the last week; the next major catalyst is earnings, which can cut both ways.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q4. Growth trends were weak on the top and bottom line: Revenue fell to $899M (-10.19% YoY), Net Income fell to $42M (-68.66% YoY), and EPS fell to $0.78 (-67.77% YoY). The main bright spot was profitability on a margin basis: Gross Margin increased to 24.47% (+2.04% YoY). Overall, margins improved but did not offset the magnitude of volume/earnings pressure, which reduces confidence in buying aggressively before the next earnings update (2026-02-03, EPS est. 1.40).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent analyst actions are mixed, with a modestly improving tilt very recently but significant bearish dissent. Bullish/less-bearish changes: Jefferies reaffirmed Buy and raised PT to $81 (from $79) on the PowerCo agreement (2026-01-08); Mizuho raised PT to $80 (from $72) and stayed Outperform (2025-12-18). Bearish/negative actions: JPMorgan kept Underweight and cut PT sharply to $54 (from $75) citing weak carbon black pricing/volume and margin pressure (2025-11-28); UBS stayed Neutral and cut PT to $65 (from $82) (2025-11-05). Wall Street pros view (pros/cons): Pros—EV battery materials linkage and contract wins could drive longer-term demand and justify PTs around $80. Cons—core carbon black market headwinds and recent earnings collapse raise the risk that the stock underperforms until volumes/pricing stabilize. Politician/congress trading: No recent congress trading data available. Insider/hedge fund trend: Neutral, with no significant recent signals.

3 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CBT stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CBT is 66.33 USD with a low forecast of 54 USD and a high forecast of 80 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

1 Hold

1 Sell

Hold

Current: 71.490

Low

Averages

66.33

High

Current: 71.490

Low

Averages

66.33

High

Jefferies

Buy

maintain

$79 -> $81

AI Analysis

2026-01-08

Reason

Jefferies

Price Target

$79 -> $81

AI Analysis

2026-01-08

maintain

Buy

Reason

Jefferies raised the firm's price target on Cabot (CBT) to $81 from $79 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company announced a multi-year supply agreement with battery maker PowerCo, a battery manufacturing subsidiary of Volkswagen (VWAGY) for conductive carbons for use in EV battery production in Europe.

Mizuho

John Roberts

Outperform

maintain

$72 -> $80

2025-12-18

Reason

Mizuho

John Roberts

Price Target

$72 -> $80

2025-12-18

maintain

Outperform

Reason

Mizuho analyst John Roberts raised the firm's price target on Cabot to $80 from $72 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares as part of its 2026 outlook for the chemicals, agriculture and packaging sector. China's increased exports are weighing on most basic chemical markets, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Mizuho believes the March quarter is set to begin as weak as the December quarter ended for most companies.

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CBT Should I Buy

CBT Should I Buy

Should You Buy Cabot Corp (CBT) 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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