Should I Buy CLNE? CLNE 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Clean Energy Fuels Corp (CLNE) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

2.250

1 Day change

0.67%

52 Week Range

3.670

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/28

BUY (starter long-term position now). At ~$2.22 CLNE is sitting near key support (S1 ~$2.16) with neutral momentum (RSI ~53) and a mildly positive MACD, while options positioning is extremely call-skewed and hedge funds have been increasing buying activity sharply. For a beginner long-term investor who doesn’t want to wait for a perfect entry, the current level offers a reasonable entry ahead of the next earnings catalyst (2026-02-26).

Technical Analysis

Trend/momentum is stabilizing rather than strongly trending. MACD histogram is above zero (0.0143) but contracting, suggesting bullish momentum is present but not accelerating. RSI(6) ~53 is neutral (no overbought/oversold). Moving averages are converging, consistent with a consolidation/base-building phase. Key levels: Pivot 2.248 (price is slightly below, so near-term reclaim of ~2.25 would be constructive), Support S1 2.158 then S2 2.102, Resistance R1 2.337 then R2 2.393. Near-term price location close to support favors a defined-risk long entry rather than chasing strength. **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 today.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options sentiment is strongly bullish/one-sided toward calls: put/call open interest is 0.06 and put/call volume is 0.02, implying traders are positioning for upside rather than downside protection. Total volume today (1460) is well above recent averages (today vs 30D avg ~75.84), suggesting rising attention. Implied volatility is elevated (~74.81) with IV percentile ~66.8, indicating the market is pricing meaningful movement, typically consistent with speculative upside interest (but also higher option premiums).

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

1) Positioning/flow: Hedge funds are buying, with buying amount up ~389.53% over the last quarter (supports demand narrative). 2) Options market tone is aggressively call-skewed (strong bullish sentiment). 3) Event catalyst: Next earnings (QDEC 2025) on 2026-02-26 after hours can re-rate the stock if margins/volumes improve. 4) Pattern-based projection provided: similar-pattern studies suggest ~7.73% potential over the next month (probabilistic, not guaranteed).

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

1) Profitability still negative: net income remains a loss (-$23.819M) and EPS is still negative (-0.11). 2) Gross margin deterioration: 2025/Q3 gross margin fell to 11.9% (-38.63% YoY), a key fundamental pressure point that can cap long-term upside if it persists. 3) No supportive near-term news flow: no news in the recent week (lack of fresh catalysts outside earnings). 4) Technical overhead: price is below the pivot (~2.248) and needs to clear ~2.34–2.39 to confirm a stronger uptrend.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue grew to $106.137M (+1.20% YoY), showing modest top-line growth. Losses narrowed meaningfully: net income improved to -$23.819M (31.05% YoY improvement) and EPS improved to -$0.11 (37.50% YoY improvement). The main concern is profitability quality: gross margin dropped to 11.9% (-38.63% YoY), which is the biggest negative trend to watch going into the next earnings cycle.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

No analyst rating trend or price target change data was provided, so a recent Wall Street consensus shift can’t be confirmed here. Based on the available fundamentals and positioning: Pros view would likely focus on improving loss trends and potential adoption/tailwinds for alternative fuels plus strong bullish options sentiment; Cons view would focus on still-negative earnings and the sharp gross-margin compression, which can keep institutional conviction muted until margins stabilize.

2 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast CLNE stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CLNE is 4 USD with a low forecast of 4 USD and a high forecast of 4 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.

2 Buy

0 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 2.230

Low

Averages

High

Current: 2.230

Low

Averages

High

UBS

Buy

maintain

AI Analysis

2025-08-12

Reason

UBS

Price Target

AI Analysis

2025-08-12

maintain

Buy

Reason

UBS raised the firm's price target on Clean Energy to $2.75 from $2 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares.

Jefferies

Buy

Hold

downgrade

2025-08-08

Reason

Jefferies

Price Target

2025-08-08

downgrade

Buy

Hold

Reason

Jefferies downgraded Clean Energy to Hold from Buy.

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CLNE Should I Buy

CLNE Should I Buy

Should You Buy Clean Energy Fuels Corp (CLNE) 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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